Modi files nomination in Varanasi, invokes "Maa Ganga"

Propelled by a sea of saffron on the streets, Narendra Modi today filed his nomination for Lok Sabha election from this temple town invoking "Maa Ganga" seeking to galvanise support in the Hindi heartland in his bid to steer BJP to power.
Before filing the nomination from Varanasi, the second seat he is contesting besides Vadodara in Gujarat, BJP's prime ministerial nominee literally took this ancient spiritual centre on the banks of Ganges by storm.
Chanting "Modi, Modi, Modi", tens of thousands of activists of the sangh parivar accompanied 63-year-old on a three-hour long road show that wound through the streets of Varanasi in the blistering heat.

"After coming here, I felt nobody has sent me nor have I come here. I am here because Maa Ganga has called me. I feel like a small child on mother's lap. I pray to God to give me the strength so that I can serve this city," said Modi after the three-hour-long road show.
His close aide and 'Man Friday' Amit Shah, who has been organising party campaign in UP for the last several months, immediately claimed that the road show has proved that the 'Modi wave' has turned into a 'tsunami'.
"The large crowd at Varanasi has reflected that the Modi wave in Uttar Pradesh has turned into a tsunami. The defeat of Congress, SP and BSP is certain in Uttar Pradesh. The impact of the support will be felt in Bihar and other neighbouring states," Shah told reporters.

Modi's road show was telecast non-stop by news channels as 117 constituencies went to polls in 11 states and Puducherry, provoking Congress to complain foul.
It lodged a complaint with the Election Commission seeking filing of an FIR against Modi and other BJP leaders for "serious model code violation" and provisions of the election law through live television coverage.