PM Narendra Modi to contest Lok Sabha Elections from Varanasi again: Report

Amid buzz over Puri, latest media report says that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to stick with Varanasi for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. It should be noted that the temple town of Uttar Pradesh was the parliamentary constituency, which PM Modi had retained in 2014. Fiver years ago, on May 16, 2014, with over five lakhs votes, the Prime Minister registered a stunning victory. According to an NDTV report, the BJP feels that PM Modi contesting from Varanasi will also help the party in overall performance in the state.

In 2014, BJP had won 71 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. PM Modi’s 2014 victory margin happened to be his first electoral attempt anywhere outside Gujarat. It was also the highest ever for the Lok Sabha seat.The NDTV report also said that it’s not PM Modi, but BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra who will contest from Odisha’s temple town. Varanasi will vote on May 19, in the last round of seven-phase polls that start on April 11. The results will be declared on May 23.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought people's "blessings" for the NDA in the Lok Sabha polls, saying his government has made possible what was earlier deemed impossible, but opposition parties said voters will throw it out of power for "wasting" its historic mandate and practising "all talk no work".As the Election Commission declared a seven-phase general election starting April 11, political parties welcomed the much-awaited announcement with the ruling alliance making a pitch for its re-election while its rival expressing confidence of unseating it.

Seeking people's support for the BJP, its president Amit Shah said the Modi government has taken bold decisions for their welfare in its first term and will ensure India's giant leap to make everyone "happy and prosperous" in its second.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government has achieved "phenomenal results" in various spheres of governance during this term, he said, citing a number of its welfare initiatives.

(With agency inputs)