Har Har Modi! As Kashi reverberated with the echoes of this mythical salutation for the Prime Minister all of Monday and Tuesday, Modi emerged a virtual Messiah sent down to salvage the earthlings of wrongs done in the past. He was in his Lok Sabha constituency to inaugurate the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project, which connects the temple to river Ganga. The project foundation was laid by Modi himself in March 2019.
In what is presumably a run-up to the polls, both the ruling BJP and the SP-led Opposition in UP, are leaving no stone unturned to amass a vote bank. The recently inaugurated Purvanchal Expressway or the foundation-laying to the Jewar airport, are both cases in point. Definitely worth noting is the fact that expressway projects, food park plans or creation of SEZs in the state are so closely intertwined with its politics, that it took three successive regimes to realise this one 340.8 km long weat to east UP link.
However, undeniably Modi remains the BJP’s poster boy. His popularity needs no introduction but each display such as we witnessed earlier this week, only underscores the fact that he enjoys mass appeal. His agenda was packed —- visiting Kaal Bhairav Temple, cruising the Ganga onboard the Alaknanda ferry greeting people and witnessing the Ganga aarti in the evening. The frenzy was clear. A God-sent had been sent to reinstate Hindu Garv.
On Tuesday, Modi held a meeting with BJP chief ministers and went to the Swarved Mahamandir in Varanasi for Sadafaldeo’s anniversary.
Even news channels covering the event stood out in the choice of words for the event’s coverage. Modi was no longer just a leader of the largest political democracy in the world. He emerged a visionary, a deeply spiritual head and a monarch who won the faith of his people.
“Whenever adversities emerged, saints rose to change their course,” he stated at the 98th anniversary celebrations of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Maharaj, Tuesday. Ironically, many accord him the same status for having wrought the saffron identity clear from mingling into the heterogenous Indian society.
Some TV anchors too exulted in their leanings and origins from Kashi adding that Modi has left no stone unturned to improve the infrastructure of the temple town. “What Modi did is nothing short of a chamatkar,” proclaimed a bystander at the PM’s events. Others chose to bless him for keeping alive the jyot. Popular news channels capsuled the coverage in titles ranging from karmyogi in Kashi, bhakti ka rang to namumkin ko mumkin karne wala.
Despite the celebratory chants, the Opposition was quick to point out that the Modi-led government is taking credit for all projects it initiated. “He is soaring and has reached the heights. Now, a downfall is inevitable,” as SP leader Akhilesh Yadav put it.
