Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived for a roadshow in his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, on Thursday, a day before he is due to file his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections. (Photo: Twitter/ ANI)

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived for a roadshow in his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, on Thursday, a day before he is due to file his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections.

Soon after arriving in Varanasi, PM Modi paid tribute to Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya statue, outside Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

(Photo: Screengrab)

Many people gathered on the narrow streets of Kashi to get a glimpse of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his roadshow on Thursday evening. Many were seen on rooftops waving at the PM and other BJP leaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat.

(Photo: Twitter | ANI)

(Photo: Twitter | ANI)

(Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,  BJP president Amit Shah, Union Minister JP Nadda, UP and Delhi BJP chiefs, Mahendra Nath Pandey and Manoj Tiwari, are among the senior leaders accompanied the Prime Minister at the event.

(Photo: Twitter | ANI)

The roadshow began from the Banaras Hindu University gate and culminated at Dashashwamedh Ghat.  A senior BJP leader said that this roadshow would be a “never before, never after” event.

Before filing his nomination papers at 11:30 am on April 26, PM Modi will visit the Baba Kaal Bhairav temple and offer prayers. He is also likely to offer prayers to Kashi Vishwanath temple before that.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders, including Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) politicians from Tamil Nadu will be present when PM Modi files his papers.

Ending speculation on Priyanka Gandhi fighting the elections from Varanasi, the Congress on Thursday announced that Ajay Rai would take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Before embarking on the roadshow, PM Modi said that his scheduled programmes in "beloved Kashi" would give him an opportunity to interact with his “sisters and brothers” of the town.

"After bumper rallies in Darbhanga and Banda, I am heading to beloved Kashi. There are a series of programmes lined up, which would give me another excellent opportunity to interact with my sisters and brothers of Kashi. Har Har Mahadev!" Modi tweeted.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses etc all. Happy reading.