Narendra Modi in Varanasi; Image credit PMO
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, February 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Varanasi last night, and he straightaway went for a stroll on a newly-built street in the ancient city along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. His visit to Varanasi is creating much buzz in the political circles amid indications that the Election Commission may unveil the Lok Sabha poll dates in the first week of the next month.
Adityanath received Modi at the Varanaso airport. He posted a message on the social media platform X, crediting Modi as “the architect of ‘New India’ to welcome him in his ‘Nai Kashi’. Modi and Adityanath inspected the newly inaugurated Shivpur- Phulwaria- Lahartara street at 11 PM. Varanasi is also the parliamentary constituency of Modi. His two rallies in the ancient city are being looked with anticipation as the launch of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign for a third straight mandate to form the government at the Centre.
Modi arrived late in the evening in Varanasi from Gujarat where he was seen taking part in a temple function. The prime minister in the last two months has regularly been seen in temples or Hindu religious events. He is seen blending the BJP’s poll narrative of the Hindutva and development with strong focus on welfarism.
The PMO in a statement early Friday said: “On his arrival to Varanasi after a long and packed day in Gujarat, PM went to inspect the Shivpur- Phulwaria- Lahartara marg at around 11pm. It was inaugurated recently. It is of great help to around 5 lakh people living around southern part, BHU, BLW, etc., who want to go towards airport, Lucknow, Azamgarh and Ghazipur.”
Under the watch of PMO, the ‘New Kashi’ is being developed with modern infrastructure facilities to give weight to the BJP’s punchline that Modi is overseeing a redevelopment of the ancient city which had seen devastations at the hands of the Muslim rulers. That Modi is helping Varanasi rediscover the glory of the past until the Muslim rulers captured the political powers in the northern parts of the country is now seen seen central to the BJP narrative ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Modi in a message on X said: “After the programs in Gujarat, now I am among my family members in Kashi, the city of Baba Vishwanath.” He also stated that “many development projects including the inauguration of Banas Dairy Kashi Complex” will be unveiled in the city. He will also take part in a programme on Sant Ravidas Jayanti.
While Modi is blending his temple, development, and welfare political script, the Opposition is struggling to find feet on the ground while the general elections may be just a few weeks away. The Congress general secretary (national) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has alleged that the Modi government is “conspiring to hijack the elections”.
Vadra alleged: “The BJP government first put ED, IT and CBI after the opposition parties and leaders. Attempts were made to crush the mandate by toppling governments with money orders.” The Congress leader also claimed that the Modi government is “trying to weaken the biggest opposition party by withdrawing money from its bank account”.
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