Modi to contest polls from Varanasi
Monday, 17 March 2014
NEW DELHI, Mar 16 (AFP): India's opposition leader Narendra Modi, frontrunner to be the country's next prime minister after elections starting next month, will contest the polls from the Hindu holy city of Varanasi.
Modi's opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced late Saturday the latest list of seats for candidates to contest the five-week-long elections from April 7 in the world's largest democracy.
"Grateful to the party for giving me opportunity to contest the election from the holy city of Varanasi! An honour to contest from Varanasi," Modi tweeted soon after the announcement.
The move is part of the BJP's tactics to win the critical northern battleground state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Hindu temple city of Varanasi, home to around 1.4 million people, is located.