More than a lakh people are expected to turn up for a show of support on Thursday when Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will file his nomination from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency.
The district administration is pulling out all the stops to ensure an incident-free event. Security has been tightened in all the areas from where Mr. Modi’s convoy will pass. The BJP, too, has made extensive preparations for the road show.
Mr. Modi will start his ‘Shobha Yatra’ by paying tributes at the statue of Pandit Madam Mohan Malviya at Banaras Hindu University. He will then proceed to pay respects at the statues of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Swami Vivekananda and B.R. Ambedkar before filing his nomination at the city collectorate.
“There are four proposers for Mr. Modi — Justice G. Malviya, the grandson of Pandit Madam Mohan Malviya, Padma Vibhusan Channu Lal Mishra, Virbhadhra Nishat, a boatman and Ashok, a representative of the weaver community,” said senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad adding that people in Varanasi are excited about Mr. Modi’s candidature from the city. On whether he will interact with the residents, particularly Muslims as he had stated before, Mr. Prasad said Mr. Modi would return to Varanasi at a later date to spend more time with the people.
“People are yearning for a change. They are voting for the BJP because they want to see the party in power and Mr. Modi as their Prime Minister. So, while in other parts of the country they are voting for Modi-led BJP, in Varansi, they are voting for Mr. Modi. This place will have a special connection with him,” the BJP leader said.
He, however, declined to comment on which seat Mr. Modi will retain if he wins both Vadodara and Varanasi.
Mr. Prasad also condemned the attack on Aam Aadmi Party leader Somanth Bharti in Varanasi. He said the BJP did not believe in violence. Mr. Bharti's car was attacked and window panes were smashed by some protesters. His driver was also attacked and AAP leaders blamed the BJP for the violence.
