AS MODI MAKES A LAST CHARGE IN VARANASI, TEMPERS AND EMOTIONS RISE

[After a weeklong sparring with Priyanka Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family who had made several scathing attacks on Mr. Modi, here he returned to the centerpiece of his campaign: promises of an economic resurgence and lifting India out of the stagnation of the previous five years. Mr. Modi spoke of tourism, infrastructure and jobs, and it was a message that resonated perfectly in a region that remains one of the poorest in India.]

By Vaibhav Vats

Picture: Google

VARANASI, India — Narendra Modi, the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, arrived on Thursday in Rohaniya, an hour’s drive from Varanasi’s city center. This was to be Mr. Modi’s last campaign rally in Varanasi, where he is locked in a fierce contest with Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party in a parliamentary race that has gripped India.

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The road to Rohaniya cuts through a landscape of economic desolation; potholed highways and unpainted brick houses coalesce with few signs of the global economy, or even the energy and dynamism of India’s more prosperous regions. It is why when Mr. Modi’s helicopter appeared in the sky, it was a truly incongruous sight.

Minutes later, Mr. Modi took the dais to deafening cheers. This was the only speech Mr. Modi would make in Varanasi before the constituency goes to the polls on Monday, and it was critical that he struck the right note to put the race beyond Mr. Kejriwal, his main opponent.

“My only agenda is development,” Mr. Modi said, to a sea of caps and flags in saffron, his party’s color. “The western arm of India is seeing economic activity, but the eastern arm of India is weak. Give me the opportunity to make the eastern arm of India strong.”

After a weeklong sparring with Priyanka Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family who had made several scathing attacks on Mr. Modi, here he returned to the centerpiece of his campaign: promises of an economic resurgence and lifting India out of the stagnation of the previous five years. Mr. Modi spoke of tourism, infrastructure and jobs, and it was a message that resonated perfectly in a region that remains one of the poorest in India.

Mr. Modi is a charged and domineering orator. With subtle shifts in tone, he rouses and rallies the crowd. “Do you want a weak government?” he demanded of the crowd toward the end of his speech. “Do you want a remote-controlled government?” Having elicited a series of collective, vociferous rejections, Mr. Modi told the gathering to participate in a reciprocal pact: “Then give me a strong government and I will give you a strong India.”

In the hours leading up to Mr. Modi’s rally, a controversy had erupted over the Election Commission’s decision to deny permission for a second rally in Beniya Bagh, a sensitive Muslim neighborhood in Varanasi. Mr. Modi, not surprisingly, took the opportunity to play victim.

“They are unable to tolerate Modi anymore,” he said, in his slow, drawling, sarcastic tone. “The opposition has become so defeated that they are now trying to do match-fixing.”

Less than an hour after finishing his speech at Rohaniya, Mr. Modi’s cavalcade emerged from under the grand archway of the Banaras Hindu University, the city’s prestigious seat of learning that is nearly a century old. After permission was denied to Mr. Modi’s second rally in the city, the Bharatiya Janata Party had devised a plan to make Mr. Modi’s presence felt throughout the city: Mr. Modi would fly from Rohaniya to Banaras Hindu University, then from there, he would drive through the city to the party’s headquarters nearly 2.5 miles away.

This was not a campaign road show, which would have required prior permission from the Election Commission, and Mr. Modi remained ensconced inside his bombproof S.U.V. Large, unmanageable crowds lined the streets, while some ran after Mr. Modi’s vehicle to get a closer glimpse of their leader. It appeared the worst of security nightmares, and paramilitary forces surrounded Mr. Modi’s vehicle all the way. It took three hours for Mr. Modi’s cavalcade to cover the distance.

Technically, Mr. Modi’s drive through the city was not a campaign exercise, but it was as effective as any formal mode of canvassing for votes. Sandeep Singh, 36, who followed Mr. Modi’s procession for a large part of the way, said: “Narendra Modi will be prime minister now as long as he is alive.”

Mr. Singh’s friend, Rajiv Maurya, 29, also a supporter of the B.J.P., said, “Look at this crowd; Kejriwal will be blown away in this election.”

Yet, even as Mr. Modi’s cavalcade navigated a city in pandemonium and his supporters argued that it was inconceivable that he could be defeated here, there were signs of how bitter, polarizing and impassioned this parliamentary race has become.

As the race approaches its final mile, Ajay Rai, the Congress party candidate who hails from Varanasi, has dropped out of the reckoning, and the race now appears to be a one-on-one battle between Mr. Modi and Mr. Kejriwal.

Barely a third of a mile from the gates of Banaras Hindu University, the Aam Aadmi Party had erected a stage for a rally of its own. As Mr. Modi’s cavalcade passed, the Aam Aadmi Party workers gathered on the other side of the road, and B.J.P. workers chanted slogans in favor of Mr. Modi: “Ab ki baar, Modi sarkaar!” (This time, Modi’s government).

The Aam Aadmi Party workers took to the dais to chant a slogan of their own, which has become popular all over Varanasi. “Jo do seeton se ladta hai, woh Kejriwal se darta hai.” (Whoever fights from two seats is scared of Kejriwal), referring to Mr. Modi’s decision to contest in his home state of Gujarat as well, where he is assured of victory.

The windshield of an Aam Aadmi Party worker’s car was smashed, and paramilitary forces planted themselves in the middle of the avenue to prevent the foot soldiers of both parties from entering into a full-blooded skirmish. It was once again a reminder that, as the contest for Varanasi heads toward its climax, the battle is far from finished.

@ The New York Times