New Delhi: After a show of strength on the streets of Varanasi, Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday filed his nomination papers for one of the most keenly watched contests in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Thousands of supporters waved and cheered as Modi covered the two-km route in almost three hours from the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where he landed in a helicopter, and the collector’s office where he filed his nomination papers.
The Gujarat chief minister flew in to the temple town and attended a string of events, including paying tributes to BHU founder Madan Mohan Malviya, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Swami Vivekananad and BR Ambedkar.
The grandson of Malviya, Giridhar Malviya, was one of the proposers for Modi’s candidature. Amit Shah, BJP’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge, said there was a Modi wave in UP, now after Modi has filed his nomination from Varanasi, it has become a tsunami.
Hours before filing his nomination papers Modi had praised the “glorious past” and talked about the glorious future” of the holy city in a blog.Modi talked about creating state-of-the-art tourist and infrastructure facilities for Varanasi, commitment to clean the Ganga, address the issues of cleanliness in the temple town and to make the weavers of Varanasi become “our pride at the world level.
With the blessings of Lord Vishwanath and inspired by the legacy of a glorious past, we set out to create a magnificent future for Varanasi, he wrote. He also sought the support and blessings of the people of Varanasi. “Mother Ganga called me to Kashi, he said.
“Bless me so that I can restore this glorious city to its prime and so that I can bring a sea of change in the lives of people of Varanasi and Poorvanchal so that this region once again becomes the focal point of our nation’s development and our proud culture.
Every party has been trying hard to woo the 1.5 lakh Muslim voters the constituency has. Polling in Varanasi would be held in the last phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 12.After filing his nomination papers from Varanasi, Modi will fly to his other constituency of Vadodara to address a public meeting at the Polo Ground, a party official said. This will be Modi’s first rally in Vadodara after he filed his nomination papers on 9 April.
Bureau Report
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