"10 years ago, you entrusted me with responsibility of being your representative for first time": PM Modi

New Delhi [India], March 31 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday interacted with the Bharatiya Janata Party Karyakartas from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi and reaffirmed the BJP's commitment towards development.
In an audio interaction at the "Tiffin Baithak" (meeting) with BJP Karyakartas, discussed on several topics including, restoration of Kashi Vishwanath corridor, women's empowerment, infrastructure and healthcare development, etc.
"10 years ago, you entrusted me with the responsibility of being your representative for the first time. This year, I urge you to once again choose me as your representative and help the NDA win 400 seats in the Lok Sabha," the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said that we have witnessed the remarkable transformation of Kashi over the past 10 years.
"You all have witnessed the remarkable transformation of Kashi over the past 10 years. It's imperative that we make people more aware of the works we have done and help 'Modi ki Guarantee' reach everyone," he added.
"We people of the BJP are hard working people. We worked hard to break all our previous records. Therefore, records have to be broken in every booth, records have to be broken in the entire Lok Sabha constituency, records have to be broken in the entire Uttar Pradesh and entire India," he said.
In a conversation with one of the party karyakartas, Rakesh Sonkar expressed, "In my constituency, women are pleased with the 'Ijjatghar', i.e the provision of toilets, along with the improved cleanliness in the city. The opposition's efforts will falter here, just as in Varanasi, where people say, 'Har Ghar Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi.'"
PM Modi emphasised the importance of reaching out to first-time voters, urging the party karyakarta to highlight the transformation between old and modern Kashi.
He stressed the need for first-time voters to understand the hardships their parents faced before Modi's tenure, contrasting them with the progress and infrastructural development in Kashi today.
PM Modi inquired at a party karyakarta whether tourists visiting from outside expressed surprise at the development of Kashi.
In response, Saurabh Sahini, a Panna Pramukh, highlighted that both domestic and international tourists are astounded by the development of Varanasi over the last decade. They come specifically to witness landmarks such as the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the newly-developed NaMo ghat, and the Alaknanda cruise, among others.
PM Modi will be contesting from the Varanasi seat. In 2014, he defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and in 2019, he won against the Samajwadi Party's Shalini Yadav and Congress leader Ajay Rai.
Even before Modi, Varanasi had been a BJP stronghold, with the party retaining it consistently since 1991 except in 2004 when the Congress's Rajesh Kumar Mishra had won.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast votes in the general election.