BJP Workers Celebrate In Varanasi As PM Modi Leads In Vote Count From His Seat
Celebrations have begun in Uttar Pradesh's high-profile Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Modi is seeking re-election to the Lower House. PM Modi is leading by over 20,000 votes in Varanasi. Ajay Rai, a five-time Congress lawmaker, was once again the party's pick in Varanasi against PM Modi. In the 2014 election, he polled 75,000 votes, a fraction of PM Modi's 5.8 lakh. Varanasi went to polls on May 19, the last of the seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections, polling for which had started on April 11.
More than 57.81 per cent voting was recorded in Varanasi on May 19 till 7 pm. There were 18.54 lakh voters in the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. Polling in the high-profile constituency was peaceful and no major incident of violence was reported.
Besides PM Modi, 25 other candidates are in fray from Varanasi Lok Sabha. PM Modi's main challengers are Congress' Ajay Rai and Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party's joint candidate Shalini Yadav.
This prestigious constituency has witnessed extensive campaigning with both Prime Minister Modi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra holding roadshows in Varanasi.
Before he had filed his nomination papers from Varanasi, PM Modi held a massive roadshow in the the Uttar Pradesh temple town that took two-and-a-half hours. The roadshow had ended in the holiest ghat in Varanasi, the Dashashwamedh.
In 2014, PM Modi had defeated Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of 3.37 lakh and trounced all other 40 candidates, including Ajay Rai, who lost their deposit. Last time, PM Modi had got 56.37 per cent votes out of the total polled.
