Some cities elect a representative. Kashi seems to call someone from Gujrat city by the grace of Bhagwan Vishwanath. When Narendra Modi chose Varanasi as his parliamentary constituency in 2014, few could have predicted how deeply the ancient city and its new MP would become woven into each other’s story. He has represented Kashi in the Lok Sabha ever since, winning the seat in 2014, 2019 and 2024. The city has returned its loyalty with a warmth that goes well beyond electoral arithmetic.
Kashi & its MP: A bond beyond politics
So when Prime Minister Modi turned 76 on Thursday, September 17, 2026, it was only natural that Kashi would celebrate as if a member of its own family was having a birthday. From the banks of the Ganga to the lanes of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham, from a blood donation camp to a stadium lit with thousands of lamps, the city marked the day with prayer, service and festivity.
Born on September 17, 1950, in Vadnagar, Gujarat, Modi has spent close to 25 years in constitutional offices. That journey from his birthplace to his workplace became the central theme of the day. As Defence Minister Rajnath Singh put it, “Vadnagar is where Modi received the blessings and values of his mother Heeraben, while Kashi is where his public life found fresh energy.”
A 76 metre Chunri for Maa Ganga
The celebrations began where Kashi’s day always begins, on the ghats. At Samne Ghat, volunteers of Namami Gange organised a special religious ceremony. With full rituals, they worshipped Maa Ganga and offered her a chunri, a sacred ceremonial cloth, measuring 76 metres, one metre for each year of the Prime Minister’s life.
The offering was followed by Ganga Aarti, performed amid the chanting of Vedic mantras, including the well-known Vishnu stotra “Shantakaram Bhujagashayanam”. Lamps rose and circled over the river as devotees prayed for the Prime Minister’s good health and long life.
The popular birthday song “Baar Baar Yeh Din Aaye, Tum Jiyo Hazaaron Saal” echoed across the ghat, blending easily with devotional bhajans. Chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” filled the air. Local residents joined the Namami Gange workers in the worship and the riverfront turned deeply spiritual. Sweets were then distributed as the programme drew to a close.
Rajesh Shukla, convenor of Namami Gange for the Kashi region and cleanliness brand ambassador of the Varanasi Municipal Corporation, said the gathering had sought the blessings of Baba Vishwanath and Maa Ganga for the Prime Minister. Under PM leadership, he added the country is moving forward across many areas of development and public welfare.
Leaders pray together at Baba Vishwanath’s door
The next stop was the spiritual heart of the city. At Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham, a group of senior leaders gathered for a special puja. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister Chirag Paswan performed the Shodashopachar Puja of Baba Vishwanath, the traditional worship offered with sixteen sacred steps.
Speaking to the media inside the Dham complex after the puja, Yogi Adityanath greeted the Prime Minister, calling him Kashi popular MP and the nation’s Prime Minister. He said, they had prayed to Baba Vishwanath for Modi’s health and long life.
The Chief Minister shared a larger wish as well. He said they had prayed that Modi continues to lead India for a long time, and that under his leadership the country’s 140 crore citizens see India rise as the world’s number one economy. He also noted that priests and sanitation workers of Kashi were honoured on the occasion, a gesture that placed those who keep the city’s faith alive alongside those who keep its streets clean.
Rajnath Singh said he had worshipped Baba Vishwanath with due rituals alongside Yogi Adityanath, Chandrababu Naidu and Chirag Paswan, prayed for the Prime Minister’s healthy and long life.
Chandrababu Naidu said he felt very happy to offer prayers in Kashi on the Prime Minister’s birthday. Recalling Modi’s long public life, he pointed out that the Prime Minister has spent about 25 years in constitutional positions. He prayed to Baba Vishwanath to keep India at the top of the world.
Seva Sankalp Abhiyan: Service as a birthday gift
The day was not only about prayer. In keeping with Modi’s emphasis on service, Rajnath Singh and Yogi Adityanath launched the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan in Kashi. The campaign has been started to mark the Prime Minister’s 25 years in public life, and several programmes linked to it were held across Varanasi.
The launch took place at Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre. There, the leaders viewed an exhibition titled “Jansewa Se Rashtrasewa Ke 25 Varsh”, meaning 25 years from public service to national service, which traces the Prime Minister’s life and work. A short film on the positive changes India has seen under his leadership was also screened.
In his message for the day, the Chief Minister wrote that Modi’s life, devoted to the resolve of “Nation First”, hard work and public welfare, is an inspiration for achieving the goal of a Viksit Bharat. Under his leadership, Yogi Adityanath said, India is setting new records in self-reliance, good governance, cultural renaissance and global standing. He prayed to Baba Vishwanath, Maa Ganga and Maa Annapurna for the Prime Minister’s long, healthy life and for the fulfilment of the vision of an Aatmanirbhar and developed India.
Rajnath Singh spoke about how history will remember the Prime Minister. When Modi’s legacy is written, he said, it will record how he freed the country from Naxalism, how Article 370 was removed from Jammu and Kashmir, how crores of people were lifted out of poverty, how women were given an equal share in Parliament. How the dreams of young people were given wings. He also said that it makes people self-reliance and that is exactly what Modi has done.
Blood Donation: Service in action
Service took a very practical form too. Anil Rajbhar, Uttar Pradesh’s Minister for Labour and Employment Coordination, took part in a mass blood donation drive at the Medisure and Bhagwan Buddha Charitable Blood Centre in Chandmari.
Calling blood donation an important way of serving humanity, the minister urged people to step forward and help patients in need. A birthday, it showed, can also save lives.
From Karmabhoomi to Janmabhoomi: The Vadnagar Bike Yatra
The most colourful moment of the day was the send-off of the Seva Sankalp Bike Yatra. The rally will travel from Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s karmabhoomi or land of work, to Vadnagar, his janmabhoomi or land of birth.
Five hundred young people riding 250 motorcycles will complete the journey. Before they set off, the leaders interacted with the bikers and honoured them. As the yatra was flagged off, flowers were showered on the riders.
After a public gathering, Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath, Chandrababu Naidu and Chirag Paswan waved the green flag. The streets of Kashi instantly took on a festive look. At several points, all the way to the boundary of Varanasi district, residents and party workers greeted the riders with showers of petals.
For Rajnath Singh, the rally carried a meaning far deeper than a road trip. The journey from Kashi to Vadnagar, he said, is not simply travel from one place to another. It links service, resolve and values. Through this yatra, he explained, Kashi spiritual energy and Vadnagar land of values are being joined together. He described it as a confluence of seva, sanskar and sadhana, meaning service, values and spiritual discipline.
प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के जन्मदिन के अवसर पर ‘वाराणसी से वडनगर’ तक जाने वाली बाइक रैली को आंध्र प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री श्री @ncbn, उत्तर प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री @myogiadityanath जी एवं केंद्रीय कैबिनेट में हमारे युवा साथी श्री चिराग पासवान की मौजूदगी में झंडा दिखाकर… pic.twitter.com/ZiD2R5WzjT
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 17, 2026
The Prime Minister has a deep spiritual bond with Kashi, while Vadnagar is where he was born and where his early values took shape. The yatra he added, carries forward a message of India’s cultural unity and spirit of service. It aims to carry Kashi’s faith, traditions and culture to Vadnagar, while spreading the idea of service and commitment among people along the way.
Ten thousand lamps light up Sigra
As evening fell, Kashi turned to its favourite way of expressing joy with light. A Deepotsav was organised at Dr. Sampurnanand Sports Stadium in Sigra, where 10,000 earthen lamps were lit to pray for the Prime Minister’s health and long life.
As the sun went down, the stadium glowed with flickering flames. For a city that celebrates Dev Deepawali on its ghats, the sight felt familiar and special with a festival of lights held for one of its own.
A city that celebrates its own
The morning of Kashi began with a 76-metre chunri at Samne Ghat. It moved on to a united prayer at Baba Vishwanath’s door and then to an exhibition on 25 years of public service. Young riders headed towards Vadnagar with flowers falling around them, a blood centre in Chandmari saw volunteers roll up their sleeves and the evening closed with ten thousand lamps glowing in Sigra.
Kashi did not treat the occasion as a routine political event. It celebrated in its own language of faith, service and light. For a city that has seen more than three thousand years of history, honouring its MP in this way was a reminder that the relationship between Kashi and Narendra Modi is not merely one of a constituency and its representative. It is a bond of trust, belief and shared purpose.
