Varanasi: Taking on the Election Commission, which it accused of working “under pressure”, the BJP played its cards deftly on Thursday and turned PM candidate Narendra Modi’s seven-km drive from the Benares Hindu University to its city headquarters at Sigra into a mega-show of strength. The BJP yet again brought Varanasi to a virtual standstill.
Before his drive through the heart of Varanasi, Mr Modi, in a searing speech at a rally at Rohinia, attacked the Congress for working behind the scenes to put a “ban” on his campaigning in Varanasi. “Ma Ganga, mein phir aunga (Mother Ganga, I’ll come again)”, he said in an emotional pitch, playing the victim at the rally. For all practical purposes, Varanasi came under saffron siege for the second time, the first being when Mr Modi filed his nomination papers on April 24.
