VARANASI: On a sultry Saturday, when the mercury peaked at 43°C, one of the oldest cities in the world and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi witnessed two mega events raise the political heat in the seat.
While the INDIA bloc showed its strength by holding an SP-Congress roadshow featuring Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed a poll rally at the Assi Ghat on the banks of river Ganga the same evening.
With the focus of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls shifting to eastern UP’s Varanasi and Ballia regions, Varanasi is now the cynosure of all eyes.
The INDIA bloc’s roadshow started from Durgakund in Varanasi Cantonment assembly segment and travelled through the road near the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple, before itreached the statue of Madan Mohan Malviya, the founder of the Banaras Hindu University.
It was the same place from where Modi had started his long roadshow to Kashi Vishwanath temple on May 13, a day before filing his nomination from Varanasi a third time.
“It was a historic roadshow that has put the BJP on the defensive and made BJP planners rethink their strategies in Modi’s constituency,” said a euphoric Shailendra Singh, a local Congress leader.
Addressing a public meeting at the Assi Ghat, UP CM Yogi Adityanath reminded how Kashi has transformed from what it was before 2014.
“Kashi was neglected and pushed into anarchy and lawlessness by those in power at that time. This is the era of New India and New UP, with the guiding light coming from a clean,” he said.