Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi on March 9, with thousands of BJP leaders and supporters flooding the roads of the town.
Mr. Modi, who is on his first visit to Varanasi after being renominated as the BJP candidate from the seat for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll, prayed at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
![Prime Minister Narendra Modi praying at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi on March 9, 2024 Prime Minister Narendra Modi praying at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi on March 9, 2024](https://www.thehindu.com/theme/images/th-online/1x1_spacer.png)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praying at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi on March 9, 2024 | Photo Credit: ANI
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior BJP leaders, who were present at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport in Babatpur to welcome Mr. Modi, accompanied him to the temple.
Mr. Modi held a roadshow from the airport to the temple. Waving at the crowd that was chanting ‘Modi-Modi’ and Har-Har Mahadev slogans, Mr. Modi reached the temple in roughly 40 minutes. Supporters who had lined up on either side of the road, showered petals on him.
Mr. Modi is slated to participate in a public programme on March 10 in Azamgarh where he will inaugurate and lay foundation stones for multiple development projects worth over ₹42,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh. He will disburse the first instalment under the Mahatari Vandana Yojana in Chhattisgarh via video conferencing from Varanasi.
Mr. Modi has been winning from Varanasi since 2014. He won by a comprehensive margin of over 4.75 lakh votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP).