Narendra Modi roadshow: Security tightened across Varanasi, Amit Shah, Sushma Swaraj, Uddhav Thackeray, Nitish Kumar to attend

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a major roadshow in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi on Thursday before he sets out to file his nomination paper on Friday, 26 April. The prime minister’s roadshow will pass through the main areas of the temple town before culminating at Dashashwamedh Ghat where he will participate in Ganga Aarti, the BJP said. Security was heightened in the city ahead of Modi’s visit with troops and security personnel deployed strategically. Small drones have also been deployed to keep an eye on activities. [caption id=“attachment_6514131” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Security has been heightened in Varanasi ahead of Narendra Modi’s visit. ANI[/caption] Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and other leaders of NDA including many chief ministers are expected to attend the roadshow going from Lanka near Banaras Hindu University to the Dashashwamedh Ghat via Godoliya. Modi is expected to be accompanied by seniormost leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party including Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Piyush Goyal and others. Chief ministers of BJP-ruled states are expected to be in Varanasi. NDA leaders including Shiromani Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Lok Jan Shakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan will also be present on this occasion, the party said. The prime minister will land at Varanasi’s Babatpur airport around 2 pm in the afternoon, before heading to the helipad at Banaras Hindu University and taking the car from there to Lanka, from where the roadshow will begin. Modi will first garland the statue of Madan Mohan Malviya at the location, before embarking on the roadshow, BJP said in a statement. Before filing his nomination PM Modi will visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple to offer prayers. “Now, the people of Varanasi do not spit paan here and there after chewing it. I mean to say that the Varanasi has changed and has developed a lot but without compromising its values,” said Kaushal Kishore Sharma, a professor at BHU. Ashok Dwivedi, the chief trustee of Kashi Vishwanath Temple, is another Modi supporter excited about the Varanasi roadshow. “I visited many states and cities like Cuttack, Bengaluru, Chennai, Haryana and believe me the public is seeing hope in Modi," he said.