Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath on Saturday said the Election Commission did not grant permission to one of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's rally in Varanasi due to security reasons.
"The district administration was willing to consider an alternative venue for Modi's rally. If there is a security issue...commission did not want to take a chance," Sampath told ANI when asked to comment on the reasons for cancelling Modi's Varanasi rally.
On Thursday, thousands of BJP supporters had protested in Varanasi and New Delhi against the Election Commission's curb on the Beniyabagh rally.
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