Narendra Modi eyeing a hat-trick in Varanasi, BJP says 'PM will win by over....'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is eyeing another thumping victory in holy city Varanasi. He has served as the MP in 2014 and 2019 from this Lok Sabha seat.

In 2024, the opposition INDIA alliance fielded Ajay Rai from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. Rai, Congress' chief in UP, has contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the previous Lok Sabha polls too.

As of 2:30 pm, PM Modi secured 54.85 percent of the total votes polled in the Varanasi constituency, according to the Election Commission. While the Prime Minister clinched more than 5 lakh votes, after 25 rounds of counting, Congress' Rai secured around 1 lakh votes, as of 2:30 pm, June 4.

According to the BJP, PM Modi is not only eyeing a hattrick but is also hoping to do so by a record margin of more than 5 lakh votes. PM Modi defeated AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal in 2014 with a margin of over 4 lakh votes, and triumphed over Samajwadi Party candidate Shalini Yadav in 2019.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi triumphed over Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party with a substantial margin of 674,664 votes, securing 63.62 percent of the total votes.

Counting is for all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies is underway across the nation, and early trends suggest NDA leading in 293 seats, while the Opposition INDIA bloc is trailing on 231 constituencies. The BJP is ahead on 239 Lok Sabha seats, as per the Election Commission data.