Modi to file nomination from Varanasi Thursday

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will file his nomination papers from Varanasi Thursday and several hundred kg of rose petals and other flowers have been ordered, party leaders said Wednesday.

The Gujarat chief minister will be flying in to the temple town in the morning and would attend a string of events, including garlanding of statues of Banaras Hindu University founder Madan Mohan Malviya, B.R. Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Swami Vivekanand.

He would then hold a roadshow ahead of filing his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election at the district collectorate.

Officials in Varanasi told IANS they have made elaborate plans for security of the BJP leader as more than a lakh people were expected to join the roadshow.

Modi will spend over four hours in the city, a BJP leader said.

Several hundred kg of rose petals and other flowers have been ordered for use during the roadshow.

A list of 10 proposers of Modi has been sent to his office, the party leader said, adding Modi would be clearing the name of four people.

Those who may get to propose the name of Modi as BJP candidate from Varanasi include Vishwanath Singh, owner of Pappu Tea Corner at Assi Ghat, and Chhannu Lal Misra, a classical singer from the Banaras gharana.

The BJP tried to rope in the son and nephews of the late Shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan but they politely declined, citing their family tradition of staying away from politics.