PM Modi files nomination from Varanasi with NDA allies by his side

Prime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination papers for the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency on Friday, accompanied by senior BJP leaders and a large turnout of leaders from allied parties.

Who was there

Among the BJP leaders with him were Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari. From the allies came Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray, JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar, LJP’s Ram Vilas Paswan, leaders of the AIADMK and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Prakash Singh Badal. Several Union ministers were also present.

Address to workers

Before the filing, Modi spoke to party workers in the city. He said a pro-incumbency wave was being seen in the country for the first time and that people had decided they wanted his government again.

He called the workers the true candidates, said the mood was cheerful from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and urged them to break all voting records in the general election. Taking aim at the Congress, he told them not to be arrogant, noting that those who had been were cut down from 400 seats to 40.

His opponents

Modi is up against the Congress’s Ajay Rai and the Samajwadi Party’s Shalini Yadav. The Congress named Rai on Thursday, ending talk that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might be its candidate against the Prime Minister. It is the second time Modi and Rai are contesting against each other from the seat.

Polling in Varanasi is on May 19, the final round of the seven-phase election.

What happened next

The 2019 Lok Sabha votes were counted on 23 May 2019: the BJP won 303 of 543 seats and the Congress 52. Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Bharatiya Janata Party, Lok Sabha members

Originally published on 26 April 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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