Zee Media Bureau/Hemant Abhishek
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday quit his Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, choosing to retain Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh where the Bharatiya Janata Party recorded a landslide victory bagging 71 of the 80 seats in the recent elections.
Modi took to Twitter to inform followers about this decision, and wrote, “I will represent Varanasi in Lok Sabha & I look forward to this wonderful opportunity to serve Ganga Maa & work for Varanasi’s development.”
I will represent Varanasi in Lok Sabha & I look forward to this wonderful opportunity to serve Ganga Maa & work for Varanasi’s development.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 29, 2014
The Prime Minister also took the opportunity to thank Vadodara for giving him a historic mandate.
Resigned from Vadodara LS seat. Due to people's affection got elected by historic margin. Will always remain grateful to people of Vadodara.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 29, 2014
He also assured voters of Vodadara that no stone would be left unturned to ensure that the Gujarati city scales new heights of development.
I assure people of Vadodara I will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that Vadodara's development scales newer heights in the years to come
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 29, 2014
Apart from Modi Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was also elected two seats in Uttar Pradesh, quit from his pocket-borough Mainpuri and retained Azamgarh.
Under rules, a member elected from two Lok Sabha constituencies has to vacate one of the seats within 14 days of the declaration of result.
Reports said that the resignation of the two leaders has been received and were under process.
The Prime Minister had won Vadodara with a near record margin of 5.7 lakh, which was the biggest in this Lok Sabha polls. BJP has won all the 26 seats in Gujarat.
In Varanasi, Modi was challenged by the Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, whose entry into the fray had turned it into one of the most keenly watched battles of these elections. In the end, however, Modi`s nearest challenger Kejriwal was swept away when he lost by more than 3.7 lakh votes.
With Agency Inputs
