Kashi to Lucknow: Can Modi’s aarti do it for BJP?

PM inaugurates first phase of Rs 339 cr Kashi Vishwanath Dham. All CMs of BJP-ruled states & party bigwigs present at mega pre-poll event.

NT Correspondent

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi and inaugurated the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham constructed at a cost of around `339 crore.

Offering prayers at the ancient temple that draws a huge footfall of the faithful from across India, Modi turned his circumambulations of the once simple place of worship and his immersion in the Ganga, into a grand television spectacle. The Ganga ‘aarti’ that the PM watched from an onboard cruise in the evening along the illuminated ghats to the chants of Har Har Mahadev as the bells clanged to the sound of conch shells sent out a clear message - as the key state of Uttar Pradesh heads to polls in the coming months, he had taken the mantle of leadership from the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.