Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a victory from the Varanasi seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, defeating Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajai Rai by 1,52,513 votes. Modi has represented Varanasi as an MP since 2014, having won in both the 2014 and 2019 elections from this constituency.
In this election, the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc fielded Ajai Rai from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. Rai, the Congress's chief in UP, had previously contested against Modi Lok Sabha polls. As of 2:30 PM, Modi had secured 58.85 per cent of the total votes in Varanasi, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). After 25 rounds of counting, Modi has received over 5 lakh votes, while Rai had garnered around 1 lakh votes.
In 2014, Modi had defeated AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal by over 4 lakh votes and won against Samajwadi Party candidate Shalini Yadav in 2019.
In the 2019 elections, Modi triumphed over Shalini Yadav with a margin of 6,74,664 votes, securing 63.62 per cent of the total votes. Counting for all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies are undergoing, with recent trends indicating NDA leading in 293 seats, while the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc trailed with 231 constituencies. The BJP was ahead in 239 Lok Sabha seats, according to the EC data.
Who Is Ajai Rai, Congress Candidate Against PM Modi
Ajai Rai, Congress Uttar Pradesh chief, commented on the election results, stating, "Everyone has been campaigning for him and despite that PM Modi was trailing for the last three hours. Winning by a margin of 1,50,00 votes was tough for him. The people of Kashi have shown that their support is with their brother (me)".
Rai, despite being the runner-up, faced a challenging contest. The Varanasi Lok Sabha seat is one of the most significant constituencies among the 543 parliamentary seats, with Modi aiming for a third consecutive victory since he chose it as his launchpad in 2014 as the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.
In 2014, Rai, contesting against PM Modi finished third, polling 75,614 votes.
Rai began his political career with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was elected to the UP Assembly three times-in 1996, 2002, and 2007-from the Kolasla seat in Varanasi. However, he left the BJP after being denied a Lok Sabha ticket in 2009 and contested from Varanasi on a Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket, but lost.
He joined the Congress in 2012 and won the newly-formed Pindra seat on Varanasi. In 2014, he contested against Modi for the first time but finished third behind Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal. The five-time MLA has held significant organisational responsibilities within the Congress and has been booked in 18 criminal cases.