Science beat arithmetic in 2019 polls, says Modi on Varanasi visit

Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi thanked the people of Varanasi on Monday, 27 May, for placing their faith in him, and offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. It was his first visit to the constituency since he won the Lok Sabha seat by a huge margin of 4.79 lakh votes.

What Modi said

Modi rejected the description of the BJP as a “Hindi heartland” party, saying its seat share was growing in other states including Tamil Nadu, and pointing out that it ran governments in the Northeast, where some people do not understand Hindi. He said the party had faced hatred from Kerala to Kashmir and in Bengal and Tripura, but its guiding principle remained “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”. He also complained that political untouchability was growing, calling it undemocratic.

He told workers that rarely had a candidate been as relaxed and confident during an election as he had been, crediting their hard work, and said that was why he could go to Kedarnath. While he was Prime Minister, he said, he remained a worker for them. Taking aim at the opposition alliance in Uttar Pradesh, he said political analysts should study the BJP’s wins in the state carefully because science had beaten arithmetic in these polls. Hard work and workers, he said, could achieve wonders.

Shah and Adityanath

BJP president Amit Shah thanked workers for running Modi’s campaign. He said Modi had trusted the voters of Kashi enough not to visit after filing his nomination, and that this trust had been rewarded. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed Modi with the slogan “Modi hai to mumkin hai”, said the BJP had broken all records under Modi, and praised Shah’s strategy.

The visit

Modi arrived with Shah and was received by Adityanath. He travelled by road from the police lines to Bansphatak, prayed at the temple and then addressed workers at the Deen Dayal Hastkala Sankul. District Magistrate Surendra Singh said heavy security had been arranged. In a video message before polling on 19 May, Modi had called himself a “Kashivasi” (resident of Kashi).

What happened next

Votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election were counted on 23 May 2019. The BJP won 303 of the 543 seats and the Congress 52, and Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term as Prime Minister on 30 May 2019.

See also: constituencies

Originally published on 27 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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