VARANASI, India, May 13, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Cheering supporters waving saffron 
flags lined the streets of one of India's holiest cities on Monday as Prime 
Minister Narendra Modi arrived to rally votes from the Hindu faithful.

India is in the middle of a six-week election widely expected to deliver Modi 
a third term, in large part due to his cultivated image as an aggressive 
champion of the country's majority faith.
 
That includes Varanasi, the spiritual capital of the Hindu faith, where 
devotees from around India come to cremate deceased loved ones by the Ganges 
river.

"Modi has reinvigorated the Hindus like never before. He is the custodian of 
our faith and that is why I love him," said bank manager Ritesh Kumar. 

Like tens of thousands of others, Kumar waited for hours in sweltering early 
summer temperatures to catch a glance of the leader. 

"Hindus are thriving today because of Modi," the 47-year-old told AFP. 
"Thanks to Modi, I feel proud to call myself a Hindu."

Modi has represented Varanasi since the election that swept him to power a 
decade ago, and the immense crowd that gathered to greet him was a testament 
to his enduring popularity there.

As with his prior appearances there on the campaign trail, tens of thousands 
of supporters thronged the roadside.

Many waved flags bearing the lotus emblem of the ruling Bharatiya Janata 
Party (BJP) as Modi was driven past atop a flatbed truck, flanked by 
unsmiling bodyguards. 

The flags, the truck, the balloons lining the route, the marigold flowers 
cast in Modi's direction and the premier's garments were all coloured 
saffron, the traditional colour of the Hindu faith. 

Folk troupes along the route performed traditional dance routines to 
nationalistic songs blared from loudspeakers as the convoy moved by. 

- 'Villains and terrorists' -

More than 968 million people are eligible to vote in India's election, which 
is conducted over six weeks to ease the immense logistical burden of staging 
the democratic exercise in the world's most populous country.

Modi arrived in Varanasi to formally register his nomination for re-election 
on Tuesday morning, with the city to vote on June 1.

"I am confident that Modi will become the prime minister again because no one 
else deserves the position. He has made India shine on the world stage," 
homemaker Seema Arya, 35, told AFP. 

The premier's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely expected to win 
the election.

But since the vote began last month, Modi has made a number of strident 
comments against India's 200-million-plus Muslim minority in an apparent 
effort to galvanise support.

He has used public speeches to refer to Muslims as "infiltrators" and "those 
who have more children", prompting condemnation from opposition politicians. 

Modi has also accused Congress, the main party in a broad opposition alliance 
competing against him, of planning to reallocate the nation's wealth to 
Muslim households. 

The ascent of Modi's Hindu-nationalist politics despite India's officially 
secular constitution has made the country's Muslims increasingly anxious.

"We are being painted as villains and terrorists," shopkeeper Faiyaaz Ali, 
69, told AFP.

"Islamophobia has reached new levels in the country under Modi. But no one 
seems to care, we have been left to fend for ourselves."