Modi thanks Varanasi for victory

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked the people of Varanasi as he retained the seat by a margin of over 4.79 lakh votes.

In a tweet, he said, the people of Kashi are "remarkable".

"When I had gone to Kashi to file my nomination papers, they confidently said that they would manage the entire campaign without me having to come back even once … and manage they did! I bow to the citizens of Kashi. Looking forward to serving them," Modi said.

He won the seat by a margin of 4,79,505 votes, defeating his nearest rival Shalini Yadav of Samajwadi Party, according to the Election Commission's website.

In the 2014 elections, he had defeated Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of 3,71,784 votes.