"Convey Gratitude To People Of Kashi": PM Modi On Contesting From Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is all set to contest for the third consecutive time from the Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, on Saturday expressed his gratitude to the party and its workers for showing a 'constant' faith in him.

PM Modi, in a post on X, said that he is looking forward to 'serving the people of Varanasi' for the third time.

"I thank the BJP leadership and bow to the crores of selfless Party Karyakartas for their constant faith in me. I look forward to serving my sisters and brothers of Kashi for the third time. In 2014, I went to Kashi with a commitment to fulfil people's dreams and empower the poorest of the poor," the PM said.

He further said that the efforts made by the central government in the last ten years continue with even greater vigour.

"Over the last ten years, we have made significant progress across various sectors and worked towards a better Kashi. These efforts will continue with even greater vigour. I would also like to convey a special gratitude to the people of Kashi for their blessings, which I cherish greatly," the PM added.

PM Modi, in another post on X, said that his party is going to the people based on our track record of good governance and ensuring the fruits of progress reach the poorest of the poor.

"Our party has announced candidates for some of the seats and will be announcing the rest in the coming days. I congratulate all those who have been nominated as our party's candidates and wish them the very best. We are going to the people on the basis of our track record of good governance and ensuring the fruits of progress reach the poorest of the poor," he said.

Further, the PM exuded his confidence in the people of the country to make his party manage another victory.

"I am sure that the 140 crore people of India will bless us yet again and give us even more strength in fulfilling their aspirations and creating a Viksit Bharat," PM Modi added.

The BJP on Saturday released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, days after a marathon meeting of the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired.

This is the third time PM Modi will be contesting from the Varanasi seat. In 2014, he defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and in 2019, won against Samajwadi Party's Shalini Yadav.

Even before Prime Minister Modi, Varanasi had been a BJP stronghold, with the party retaining it consistently since 1991 except in 2004 when the Congress's Rajesh Kumar Mishra had won.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)