On the third consecutive day of campaigning, the PM visited Gadwa Ghat Ashram which holds special significance to Yadavs
As the final phase of Uttar Pradesh poll campaigning drew a close on Monday afternoon, the BJP, shifted its focus to the rural Rohaniya assembly segment, from its traditional urban voter base in Varanasi city.
A total of 40 seats are scheduled to go to polls in the seventh and the last phase of the state elections on March 8, which includes eight constituencies of Varanasi.
On the third consecutive day of back to back campaigning at Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his day with a visit to the Gadwa Ghat Ashram, before addressing a final rally at the Khushipur village, both in the Rohaniya assembly segment.
The ashram has over a crore followers across the country and holds special significance to the Yadavs, who have traditionally been SP voters. The monastery is also revered by the Dalits and other backward castes in the region.
Modi reached the ashram around 10.45 am and was offered Rudraksh garland by the ashram management as a mark of welcome. He also did gauseva by offering fodder and jaggery to cows at the ashram's cow shed.
He met with the ashram head Guru Sharandanand for 10 minutes and soon left without addressing the audience, who were visibly disappointed. They, however, consoled each other saying that the PM was not keeping well and that the ashram being a spiritual space, the PM did not want to give a political speech.
Later in his rally at Khushipur village, he promised benefits to the farmers, reiterating that he would waive off loans double their income by 2022. Modi said that 50-60 per cent farmers in BJP-ruled states were benefiting from his Pradhan Mantri Phasal Beema Yojana, but in UP the number was a mere 14 per cent.
He attacked the UP government saying that they were involved in nepotism and corruption. Modi said the people of UP should beware of both bua (Mayawati) and bhateeja (Akhilesh) and said he would make the state safer for women.
He further promised providing houses to everyone by 2022 and free gas connection to five crore poor families by 2019.
He also spoke about Apna Dal and Bharatiya Samaj Party, which are fighting 20 of the 403 seats in UP in alliance with the BJP.
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