Varanasi: Priyanka Gandhi, Dimple Yadav take the fight to Modi

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party's Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav held a joint roadshow in Varanasi on Saturday, 25 May, to support the INDIA bloc candidate, Ajay Rai.

The event commenced with prayers at the Kal Bhairav Temple, where they sought blessings from 'Kashi ke kotwal (the guardian of Kashi, aka Varanasi)', the consort of Parvati.

The roadshow, which spanned approximately 4 km from Durgakund to Ravidas Temple, drew thousands of participants.

After Kal Bhairav, Gandhi and Yadav paid their respects at the Kushmanda Mata temple in Durgakund.

Throughout the route, the leaders stopped at various points to address the public and solicit support for Ajay Rai, who is state Congress president for Uttar Pradesh as well.

"The huge crowd that gathered for the Parivartan road show by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav made it clear that the land of Varanasi is now ready to reject divisive politics," said Rai in an X post.

Both Congress and Samajwadi Party supporters lined up along the route, showering the leaders with rose petals and chanting slogans of "Priyanka Dimple zindabad".

Priyanka Gandhi later tweeted: "[Support for] INDIA a storm in Varanasi. Jeetega INDIA (INDIA will win)."

The procession passed several notable landmarks, including the Durga, Manas, Tridev, Sankatmochan and Lanka Mahamana statues.

Reportedly, Dimple Yadav departed from the event near the Trauma Centre gate, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra continued to the Sant Ravidas Temple in Seer Govardhan, Bhagwanpur, Chhittupur, where the roadshow concluded.

The event, which lasted about two hours, is part of the final phase of campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.The key contenders for this seat are Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ajay Rai.

Comedian Shyam Rangeela, who owned himself a former BJP supporter, created quite the furore on social media when he set himself up as an independent alternative to Modi — but his nomination was finally rejected, a development many looked askance at.

As for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Dimple Yadav, this is the first time they have held a joint roadshow — in what is a clear parallel to Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav's joint rallies earlier in the month — and that too in Prime Minister Modi's constituency.

Varanasi will go to the polls on 1 June.