In a major announcement, it has been reported that Prime Minister Modi is going to contest the upcoming Parliamentary elections from Varanasi. This decision was taken in BJP’s parliamentary board meeting. This does not come as much of a surprise since PM Modi had contested 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi. At that time he had registered a comfortable and decisive victory from the constituency. He had won the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat by a massive margin of 3.37 lakh votes during the 2014 polls.
PM Modi has not only managed to maintain his popularity but has been able to enhance it significantly as well. In his term as the Prime Minister of India, Modi has proven his mettle. In 2014, he was relying upon his administrative track record as the Gujarat CM and won heavily. PM Modi has grown in stature ever since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Therefore, we can expect him to win by an even bigger margin in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. PM Modi has emerged as a statesman respected across the globe. In such a situation, there is no reason why he should not be expected to score an even bigger victory over his opponents.
PM Modi also emerges as a definite winner from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency because of his unbelievably impressive performance as a Member of Parliament from Varanasi. The city, which is believed to be one of the oldest in the world, has witnessed tremendous development during the tenure of Narendra Modi as an MP from Varanasi. Last year, PM Modi had inaugurated a sewage treatment plan in Dinapur, Varanasi. It was built at a cost of Rs 235.35 crore and treats 14 crore litres of wastewater every day. Cleaning Ganga is a major ambition for the cities which are situated at its banks. And therefore, the inauguration of the said sewage treatment plan came as a major shot in the arm for Varanasi. Moreover, earlier this year it was reported that Varanasi is all set to become the first city with zero discharge of polluted water into river Ganga. By July this year, the sewage treatment capacity of Varanasi will exceed 400 million litres per day (MLD), checking the flow of sewer water in the river completely. Officials said this will be a big step towards making Ganga clean by 2020, under the Namami Gange project initiated by the Modi government.
Last year it also came to light that overhead electricity cables were being dismantled in Varanasi even as a project to lay underground wires had finally been completed. A total network of 16 square kilometres serving 50,000 odd consumers had been laid in the city by Powergrid, the company conducting the integrated power development scheme (IDPS) project. Varanasi is a typical city with congested markets and narrow lanes. It was replete with intricately entangled electricity poles and power cables. However, due to the efforts of the Modi government, the city now boasts of an underground power cable network.
PM Modi has taken special care to ensure that he fulfills his role and responsibility as an MP from Varanasi. Very often it is seen that in a parliamentary democratic setup, the prime minister and the top cabinet ministers fail to properly look after their parliamentary constituencies. But PM Modi has turned out to be an exception. Last year, PM Modi had even presented a report card of development in Varanasi. He had said, “As an MP from here, it’s my responsibility to give details of the work done by me. I have given you a brief of what I have done here. People living here are my boss. You command me.” Therefore, PM Modi has diligently fulfilled his responsibilities as an MP from Varanasi. In such a situation, the BJP has done the right thing by deciding to field him from Varanasi once again. He is all set to retain the constituency by an even bigger margin.