Mainstream media friendly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi haven’t taken kindly to the tribe of YouTubers who target Modi "all the time". The Prime Minister, however, wasn’t thinking of Social Media influencers on May 13, when he arrived in Varanasi and in a sea of saffron held a roadshow in his parliamentary constituency. Modi says Varanasi chose him and not the other way round.

The Prime Minister spelled it out in a manner which should alarm Dhruv Rathee and his army of Social Media supporters, which includes Rahul Gandhi and a host of other top opposition parties’ leaders who find solace in Rathee’s alleviating and elevating posts. What did Prime Minister Narendra Modi say as he traversed land and water in Varanasi on his way to file his nomination papers for the third time in 10 years?

Modi looked and sounded "sanatana" all the way to the “Collectorate” to file his nomination papers with four proposers from four different castes accompanying him. The event’s span rivalled the grandeur of the ‘Pran Prathistha’ of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. On both occasions, Modi was the cynosure of all eyes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces the Congress party’s Ajai Rai, the same Congress candidate who Modi defeated in 2014.

AjaiRai filed his nomination papers on May 13 and Rai was “allowed in”, alleged a comedian, who does a fairly good mimicry of Narendra Modi, who wanted to file his own nomination papers but was allegedly stopped from entering the Collectorate by security. The comedian now calls Modi “Dictator” but Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 14 spoke of himself as God Almighty’s “Chosen One”.

Modi said he was the “Chosen One” sent to Earth by “God Himself” to serve "Maa Bharati". Modi spoke like a messiah and thanked God and “My Mother” for his exalted state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared and sounded acutely conscious that doing the ‘Pran Prathistha’ of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir had placed him in a unique position vis a vis lesser mortals.

Dhruv Rathee would blanche at the thought but for millions upon millions of ‘Modi bhakts’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke a familiar line of thought, what they have been lapping up for a decade and would gladly lap up for another decade if it came to that. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is way above their league but is a master at reaching out to the Great Unwashed.

And Kashi on May 13 was a sea of saffron, which should worry Dhruv Rathee and the INDI-Alliance opposition parties even more. Does it strike that Prime Minister Narendra Modi perhaps wants to do more than just the ‘Pran Prathistha’ of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir given a third term? How about Modi going one step ahead and carrying out the ‘Pran Prathistha’ of India that is Bharat in a new avatar? INDI-Alliance has been warning of the tyranny waiting if Modi gets a third term and Modi couches a third term for himself in a Gangetic spread.

The thought of a “Hindu Rashtra” is not farfetched and it can be assumed that Hindu Rashtra is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s heart as he sets out to become third-time Prime Minister of India. The sea of saffron that Varanasi turned into on May 13 and May 14 wasn’t unplanned. The saffron was in line with Prime Minister Modi’s remarks over the last two months as he traversed the length and breadth of India laying down the rules for an India in which Muslims will not get special privileges.

Prime Minister Modi’s “five guarantees”, which he enumerated in West Bengal, were all about “as long as I am alive…” And it was like Narendra Modi would be forever alive. As long as Modi is alive, “there will never be no Muslim Reservation”. As long as Modi is alive, “reservation for SC/ST and OBC will not be stopped.” As long as Modi is alive, “CAA will not be rolled back.” As long as Modi is alive, “no one will be able to stop Hindus from celebrating Ramnavami and praying to Lord Rama.” As long as Modi is alive, “nobody will be able to overturn the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya Ram temple.”

The last was about a revelation by Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has promised to end the reign of the rejuvenated Lord Ram. It doesn’t escape keen minds that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Varanasi for winning yet another term which he will then use to achieve the BJP’s saffron goals. At least that is what Hindus will believe as they vote for the BJP.

The grand show put up by the Prime Minister’s nomination "rath" on May 13 and May 14 was a full-scale declaration to the likes of Dhruv Rathee, “No, none of the pantheon of the anti-Modi opposition can stop me.” Modi’s nomination journey was a prayer from start to finish. Modi invoked both ‘Baba Vishwanath’ and “My Mother” in equal measure. If God Almighty chose him for special mention, “My Mother” had set him on the righteous path.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother passed away a year ago at 100. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won Varanasi with over 63 percent vote share in 2019. And Prime Minister Modi stressed that the electorate of Varanasi wouldn’t disappoint this time, too. Varanasi votes on June 1 and three days later, on June 4, the result will be out.

Prime Minister Modi in Varanasi declared the Congress will be thoroughly defeated. In Uttar Pradesh, “people now know there is an alternative”, the Congress will not win a single seat. As for Rahul Gandhi, Kerala has taught him a great deal but he had to "run". Narendra Modi stuck to his “400 paar” rhetoric and sounded extremely confident.

It was apparent that this was one man the BJP cannot do without and one man the NDA also cannot do without.

In fact, a politician who the Opposition INDI-Alliance can do without. Prime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination papers in the presence of NDA Chief Ministers and an array of Union ministers. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath strung along with Modi shoulder to shoulder as the Prime Minister prayed to ‘Kaal Bhairav’.

The thought that one carries from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s utterances of May 14 is that Modi truly believes he is the ‘Chosen One’, chosen by God Almighty himself, chosen for a specific task, and chosen to serve the interests of a particular country and people. He made sure to refer to God Almighty as “formless” but can he be trusted? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has his future chalked out and with that the future of India that is Bharat, too. June 4 is a fait accompli. Neither Dhruv Rathee nor the INDI-Alliance can do a thing to stop Modi in his tracks. (IPA Service)