Money & Markets
Why Varanasi may not be a cakewalk for Narendra ModiThe Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Varanasi believes it is about to give India the party’s second prime minister. But as a Banarsi who has seen the political whirlwinds of Uttar Pradesh, I don’t see Varanasi as being a safe seat for Narendra Modi.There’s no doubt that Varanasi has long been an eastern Uttar Pradesh bastion of the BJP and that of its backbone, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). Varanasi has over 1.5 million registered voters. Of this, almost a third, or roughly 400,000 are Muslims.
Updated July 21, 20223 min read