PM Modi might debut in his first road show in UP

NEW DELHI: Rumours have surfaced that to win the Uttar Pradesh elections, the BJP has planned to organise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first road show.

“Modi will be holding his first road show at his own constituency Varanasi before the final phase of UP elections, on March 8, 2017,” said sources.

However, the party is yet to confirm the event. A senior party leader told Millennium Post that the PM will hold an important program at Varanasi. “But it may or may not be a road show or a public rally. We will decide that within a couple of days,” he said.

According to sources, on March 8, Modi will address a rally in Mirzapur. The following day, he will campaign in Jaunpur, before returning to Varanasi where he will address a public meeting at Kashi Vidyapeeth. He may also visit the famous Vishwanath and Kaal Bhairav temples.

But, Varanasi is will be troublesome for the party as the local unit is getting divided. The caste system has been dominant in the eight Assembly seats of Varanasi. As the saffron party is trying to pull in votes of upper-caste Brahmin, Thakur, and Baniyas, the opposition parties are banking on Muslims, Dalits, Kurmis, and Yadavs. Meanwhile, the Congress is trying to make a cut in BJP'S upper caste vote bank and has fielded strong Brahmin candidates in the city. Even the BJP is troubled with rebellion in city units. Of three MLAS in the city, one has been replaced, one has been retained and the third seat has been given to the sitting MLA'S son. Shyam Dev Rai Chaudhary, a seven-time MLA, has been replaced by a fresh Brahmin face, Neilkanth Tiwari. Moreover, during Lok Sabha Elections of 2014, the Prime Minister had promised to clean up Ganga following which the Namami Gange Project was planned, but the plan failed to showcase results owing to the fights between center and state.

The massive polling in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh will be held for 89 seats in 14 districts on March 4 and 8, 2017. Varanasi is going to the polls in the last phase of the election on March 8.

According to sources, Modi will address a rally in Mirzapur on March 8