New Delhi: Pitted against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was leading briefly in Varanasi Lok Sabha seat by more than 6,000 votes, according to early trends released by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
However, as of 10.45 am, Modi had gained a considerable lead of 33,206 over Rai.
Hoping to increase Modi’s victory margin, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had deputed senior party leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who held several meetings in the constituency days before polling.
Modi also held roadshows during his nomination, while UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too campaigned extensively in Varanasi. Moreover, Modi, looking for a third term, had written personalised letters to over 2,000 prominent and 90,000 first time voters.
With 63.62 percent of the total votes in 2019, Modi had won the Varanasi seat by a margin of 4.8 lakh votes, defeating his nearest rival Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party.
Ajay Rai, fielded by the INDIA bloc, had contested in the previous 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls as well and finished third in both. In 2014, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had also contested unsuccessfully against PM Modi in Varanasi.
Reacting to early trends briefly showing Ajay Rai ahead of Modi, Congress general secretary incharge of communications Jairam Ramesh wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter): “This is what is called a trailer!”
इसे ही *ट्रेलर* कहते हैं! pic.twitter.com/bCbUSL9ZTi
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 4, 2024