Five years of Varanasi as prime minister's constituency

Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested from Varanasi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and won comprehensively defeating Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Ajay Rai from the Congress by garnering a vote share of 56.37 per cent and obtained three lakh votes more than his AAP counterpart.

Since his victory in Varanasi, the Prime Minister has visited the city 18 times. The Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that over 300 projects have been launched over the last four years in Varanasi with a combined investment of over Rs 30,000 crore.

A significant amount of this investment has been dedicated for either expanding existing highways or construction of new ones. The Prime Minister also inaugurated his showpiece project, Kashi Vishwanath Temple to Ganga Ghat corridor worth Rs 600 crore, The Economic Times reported.

Prime Minister inaugurated several development projects in the city. Some of these include the dedication of 765/400 KV GIS Varanasi Power Sub-station, the Varanasi city gas distribution project, inauguration of Varanasi Postal Region, setting up of the Mahamana Pt Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre and the Centenary Super Speciality Hospital at BHU.

The former Gujarat Chief Minister also inaugurated the expansion Project of Diesel Locomotive Works (Phase 1). Aside from this, significant investment has also gone into Ganga cleaning projects, medical facilities and cow shelters.

The constituency has also seen the inauguration of projects for the benefit of local and cottage industries. The Trade Facilitation Centre and Crafts Museum, and the Powerloom Service Centre were introduced in Varanasi. The Deendayal Hastkala Sankul – a trade facilitation centre for handicraft was also inaugurated at Varanasi, Moneycontrol reported.

Back in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Japan, wherein he had struck a deal with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe regarding the Kyoto-Varanasi partner city agreement. While Varanasi might be the pilgrim hub for millions of Hindus around the world, Kyoto itself is home to thousands of Buddhist monasteries and temples and holds a significant place in Japanese history. The impact of the agreement over the last four years, however, remains unclear.

While the impact of the Modi government over the last five years in the national level rages, it remains pretty certain that the Prime Minister has given importance to his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi. Prime Minister filed his nomination on Friday (April 27) after a mega roadshow, and he will be looking to hold on to the constituency for another term. The Congress has fielded the second runner up from 2014, Ajay Rai as Modi's competitor this time.