Temple town set for mega battle

With senior leaders of all the major political parties storming Varanasi with rallies and roadshows, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency is all set to witness a mega electoral battle.

On Saturday, Varanasi witnessed a couple of impressive roadshows and election rallies. All the major parties have lined up a series of rallies in the next couple of days here.

While Modi held a roadshow here on Saturday morning and addressed an election meeting in the evening, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi held a joint roadshow in the noon.

BSP supremo Mayawati also addressed an election rally at Rohaniya in Varanasi district around the same time.

Several ministers and BJP leaders from different parts of the country, including Gujarat, have flocked to Varanasi to ensure the victory of the saffron party. 

Party MPs from Bihar and leaders from West Bengal are also here to woo the electorate from their respective states.

Leaders of the BJP’s alliance partners Apna Dal and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party are lending the saffron party a helping hand in the campaigning.

Not to be left behind, the SP-Congress alliance is also going all out to defeat the BJP in its own den.

A host of Congress leaders, including former chief ministers, are campaigning in favour of the alliance nominees. Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress president Raj Babbar have also been camping here.

Senior SP leaders and around a dozen state ministers have also fanned out in different parts of the temple town and nearby seats to woo the voters.