PM Modi wins from Varanasi, defeats Ajay Rai of Congress by over 150,000 votes

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh — a comfortable win but the overall result was not so satisfying for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as they had expected a resounding win with the alliance winning more than 400 seats.

BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) hasn't been able to cross the 300 mark even as the counting for the Lok Sabha elections is underway towards conclusion.

The Election Commission of India confirmed that PM Modi has defeated Congress candidate Ajay Rai by a margin of 1,52,513 votes.

PM Modi received 6,12,970 votes while Ajay Rai received 4,60,457 votes. Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Ather Jamal Lari was in the third position with 33,766 votes.

On Tuesday (Jun 4) evening, PM Modi thanked the voters for expressing their "trust" in the NDA for the third consecutive time. He said, "This is an unprecedented moment in the history of India. I thank my family for this love and blessings. I assure the countrymen that to fulfil their aspirations, we will move forward with new energy, new enthusiasm and new resolves."

"I express my heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to all the workers for the dedication and tireless hard work they have done," PM Modi further wrote.

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Following the defeat, Congress candidate Ajay Rai, thanked the people of Varanasi for their support. Headdedthat PM Modi had to face difficulty even in winning by a margin of 1,50,000 votes.

"Everyone has been campaigning for him and despite that PM Modi was trailing for the last three hours. He had to face difficulty even in winning by a margin of 1,50,000. The people of Kashi have shown that their support is with their brother (me)," Rai told ANI.

(With inputs from agencies)