'Bond with Kashi is inseparable': PM Modi ahead of filing nomination from Varanasi today; all you need to know

The temple town of Varanasi is all decked-up to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will file his nomination from the constituency on Tuesday.

Eyeing a third term in the city that runs along the River Ganga, PM Modi is expected to file his nomination at the district collector’s office at 11:40 am.

Ahead of filing his nomination papers, the prime minister shared a video depicting his relationship with Kashi (another name for Varanasi) on X.

‘Ma Ganga has adopted me’

In the video, PM Modi can be heard saying, “When I came to Varanasi in 2014 I felt that neither have I come here before nor anyone has sent me here but that Ma Ganga has called me. Today, after 10 years, I can say that Ma Ganga has adopted me.”

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अपनी काशी से मेरा रिश्ता अद्भुत है, अभिन्न है और अप्रतिम है… बस यही कह सकता हूं कि इसे शब्दों में व्यक्त नहीं किया जा सकता! pic.twitter.com/yciriVnWV9

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 14, 2024

“In the past 10 years, I have grown so close to Kashi that now I call it ‘My Kashi’. It is a democracy, and I will continue to seek the blessings of the people. However, my relationship with Kashi is something different,” he added.

The rest of the video shows clips from PM Modi’s journey as an MP from the Varanasi constituency and the developments undertaken by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the holy state.

PM Modi offers prayer at Dasaswamedh Ghat

On Tuesday, just hours ahead of filing his nomination, PM Modi offered prayers at the Dasaswamedh Ghat in Varanasi.

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers prayers at Dasaswamedh Ghat in Varanasi

PM Narendra Modi will file his nomination for #LokSabhaElections2024 from Varanasi today. pic.twitter.com/cInaDFQzQ6

— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2024

PM Modi will be accompanied by chief ministers of various states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh as well as Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during his nomination event.

All you need to know about the Varanasi constituency

Varanasi is one of the 80 constituencies of Uttar Pradesh. A stronghold of BJP, the city will go to polls on June 1 during the seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections.

The constituency will witness a closely-watched contest between BJP’s PM Modi, Congress’ Ajay Rai and Bahujan Samajwadi Party’s Athar Jamal Lari. Notably, Shyam Rangeela, the comedian-turned-politician who is widely known for his impersonation of PM Modi, will also run up against the prime minister as an independent candidate.

The Varanasi constituency comprises five assembly segments: Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, and Sevapuri.

In the previous elections, PM Modi won a landslide victory in the city, garnering 674,664 votes with a margin of 479,505.