Prime Minister and local MP Narendra Modi filed his nomination papers from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat for the third time on Tuesday.
Before filing his nomination, the Prime Minister offered prayers to Ganga river and Kotwal of Kashi Kaal Bhairav. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was present with the PM throughout the event.
The Prime Minister filed his nomination before the Returning Officer and District Magistrate at the Collectorate under the Pushya Nakshatra. Earlier, on Monday, PM Modi offered prayers to Kashi Vishwanath.
On the auspicious occasion of Ganga Saptami, the prime minister first performed Ganga puja and aarti at Dasaswamedh Ghat in the morning. K Venkat Raman Ghanpathy, a member of Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust, performed the Ganga puja.
He was accompanied by three priests from Tamil Nadu and one priest each from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The PM also went on a cruise from Dashashwamedh Ghat to Adi Keshav Ghat, then disembarked at Namo Ghat. From Namo Ghat, the Prime Minister went directly to Kashi’s Kotwal Kaal Bhairav for darshan, puja and aarti. Subsequently, he proceeded to the Collectorate.
At the temple gate, CM Yogi presented the PM with angavastra, while the public showered flower petals on him. The entire temple and surrounding area echoed with the chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’.
During nomination Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, Baijnath Patel, Lalchand Kushwaha, and Sanjay Sonkar from the Dalit community proposed the name of the PM. It may be noted that Ganeshwar Shastri had determined the time for the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram, while Baijnath Patel has been a party worker since the days of Jan Sangh.
Prominent among the dignitaries who attended the nomination of the PM at the Collectorate, included BJP’s National President Jagat Prakash Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, BJP State President Bhupendra Chaudhary, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Union Ministers Ramdas Athawale, Hardeep Puri, former CM N Chandrababu Naidu, Praful Patel, LJP chief Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Upendra Kushwaha, UP NDA constituent Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Choudhary, Apna Dal (S) supremo Anupriya Patel, Sanjay Nishad of Nishad Party, Om Prakash Rajbhar of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Pashupati Paras, Anil Baluni among others.
