New Delhi: In the high-profile constituency, Varanasi, Congress’s Ajay Rai is ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with 4,998 votes, as per the Election Commission of India. PM Modi had taken an early lead when counting began.
Varanasi has been a BJP stronghold since 1991 and PM Modi has represented the seat since 2014. He is up against Congress’s Uttar President Ajai Rai and Athar Jamal Lari from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). PM Modi won the seat by a massive margin of 479,505 votes in the Lok Sabha elections 2019, defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Ajai Rai – who came third. In 2014, the Prime Minister defeated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by 371,784 votes. PM Modi is expected to score a hat-trick, as exit polls have predicted a landslide by the BJP-led NDA in Uttar Pradesh with between 64 and 68 seats of 80 constituencies. Stay tuned with IndiaToday.
