Spectacle of Narendra Modi's Varanasi roadshow likely to push Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka's rallies to background today

Preparations are underway in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he is expected to file his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election on Friday. Preparations have been made in the city ahead of Modi’s massive roadshow in Varanasi on Thursday evening. The prime minister, who addressed rallies in West Bengal and Jharkhand on Wednesday, will campaign in Darbhanga in Bihar and Banda in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. He is scheduled to arrive at Varanasi around 4 pm, after which he is expected to hold the roadshow. Modi filing his nomination papers in Varanasi is expected to be the biggest spectacle of his Lok Sabha campaign as NDA allies, along with the BJP top brass, are expected to converge in Varanasi for the event. [caption id=“attachment_6513611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PM Narendra Modi after casting his vote during the third phase of election in Ahmedabad. Reuters[/caption] Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi will hold public meetings at Jalore, Ajmer and Kota in Rajasthan on Thursday, while his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will hold a roadshow in Jhansi. She will also address a public meeting at Ghursarai in Jhansi and another public meeting at Orai in Jalaun. On Wednesday, both Rahul and Priyanka had mounted fresh attacks on the prime minister. Both campaigned in different parts of Uttar Pradesh — Priyanka carried out roadshows in Khaga, Ghazipur, and Hamirpur, while Rahul addressed rallies in Lakhimpur, Kheri, Unnao and Kanpur. Launching a fresh salvo at Modi in Kheri, Rahul accused the prime minister of shielding the interests of “15 selected people” while leaving the farmers and the poor “high and dry”. While Congress leaders targeted Modi at their political campaigns, it was the prime minister’s interview with actor Akshay Kumar that became the highlight of the day. The interview, which was clearly crafted to appeal to the common man, became a Twitter trend and was widely discussed on social media platforms. As pointed out in an article by _Firstpost_ , the “non-political interview” touched upon the unknown personal aspects of Modi’s life, and “coming ahead of the remaining four phases of polling, (it) could be taken as a new campaign experiment by the leader who is at the center of formal and informal public discourse these parliamentary elections”. This interview was the most discussed event of the day, and even on Thursday and Friday, Modi’s roadshow and nomination filing are expected to be grand affairs that will dominate the news and social media space.