On 13 May, the Indian Prime Minister held a massive road show on the streets of Banaras, once again demonstrating that in the holy city, one which embodies the soul of ancient India – he towers above all others, a political giant of modern Indian history.
Covering the mammoth road show from the ground, we bring to readers a visual story of PM Modi’s road show and the unrivalled popularity he enjoys in Banaras:
Crowds of eager supporters hold placards that say ‘Modi Ka Parivar’ (Modi’s Family) and Bharatiya Janata Party symbols as they await the Prime Minister at Banaras Hindu University
A tsunami of Modi and BJP supporters, as far as the eye can sea, participate in the Prime Minister’s iconic road show, celebrating the PM
Yogi Aditiyanath (left), the powerful Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh accompanies the PM (right) on his road show
Women supporters during the road show. Over the past 10 years, the Prime Minister has single handedly managed to garner the women vote in India through his transformational women empowerment schemes that have directly helped hundreds of millions of Indian girls and women
The PM and UP CM, both enjoy unmatched popularity amongst female and women voters of India. The UP CM is known for making the state safe for women by fighting crime and the PM is renown for his visionary national female initiatives such as ‘Ujjwala Yojana’ (free LPG gas cylinder distribution scheme) and ‘Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao Abhiyan’ (Save the girl child, Educate the girl child)
A mass of humanity gathers at the PM’s road show in Banaras. Few Indian politicians have been able to capture the Indian imagination in the way and manner Narendra Modi has
High powered road shows of the PM are also a nightmare security scenario for law enforcement and the security services. With the deluge of public all around the Prime Minister, no effort is spared by the agencies to secure both the PM and the public through elaborate movement, evacuation and crowd control measures in place
A lone BJP worker, tired after an iconic day, sits in front of the larger than life poster of the PM, proudly exclaiming “Phir ek Baar, Modi Sarkar” (once again, Modi Government). In Banaras, wherever you go, the Prime Minister’s face is everywhere
The Prime Minister is running from Banaras for the third time, having won the constituency by huge margins in the 2014 and 2019 elections. The people of Banaras take pride in the fact that the Prime Minister of India has chosen the city as his constituency, and his victory from Banaras in these elections, is almost absolutely certain, if undeclared until the vote counting day of 4 June
‘Hamar Kashi, Hamar Modi’ – Our Kashi, Our Modi – is the slogan on everybody’s lips in the age old city. Even as the BJP, the largest political party in the world, throws it might behind PM Modi for a third time, the personal connect Narendra Modi enjoys with the people of India and especially Banaras is undeniable and almost visceral. A towering giant of political history is once again set to leave his mark on one of the world’s oldest living cities
