PM Narendra Modi reaches his turf Varanasi to thank voters; offers prayers at Kashi Vishwanath

He will pay obeisance at the Kashi Vishwanath temple on Monday morning and later address a gathering of workers of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), party sources said.

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Monday to thank the people for "reposing faith" in him and offer prayers at the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple. Pm Modi, who flew in from Ahmadabad, was greeted by BJP President Amit Shah, Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other BJP leaders at the airport. He then went to the Reserve Police Lines by a helicopter and then drove to the Kashi Vishwanath temple where he performed a special 'puja'. It was a roadshow of sorts as his cavalcade traversed through the bylanes of the city amid high security with massive crowds lining the roads. People threw rose petals and flowers at the cavalcade. Flanked by BJP president Amit Shah and Adityanath, Modi entered the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and paid obeisance to the deity as priests recited Sanskrit 'shlokas' in the sanctum sanctorum and blew conch shells.

LIVE: Prime Minister @narendramodi reaches #KashiVishwanath temple in #Varanasihttps://t.co/DklVA2kRqn pic.twitter.com/AkpiGYN5Qc

— ABP News (@abpnewstv) May 27, 2019

Earlier on Saturday, Modi had tweeted, "Will be going to Gujarat tomorrow evening, to seek blessings of my Mother. Day after tomorrow morning, I will be in Kashi to thank the people of this great land for reposing their faith in me." District Magistrate Surendra Singh said heavy security has been put in place for the PM's visit. Singh, along with Senior Superintendent of Police Anand Kulkarni, reviewed the security arrangements for Modi's visit. A large number of security, paramilitary and Special Protection Group personnel have been deployed in places where Modi will be visiting. This is Modi's first visit to his constituency after he won the Lok Sabha elections by a huge margin of 4.79 lakh votes. Modi not only retained his seat, but also saw his victory margin increase by nearly 1 lakh votes as compared to the 2014 general elections. In a video message ahead of the May 19 polling, Modi had called himself a "Kashivasi" and termed the city his guiding spirit. He had said that it was a matter of great satisfaction for him that he was in service of the city whose presiding deity is Lord Shiva. Modi also led the BJP to a resounding victory for a second term in office. In first back-to-back majority in the general elections for a single party in over three decades, the Modi-led BJP won 303 out of 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls, handing out a crushing defeat to the Congress and many other political opponents.