Ahead of PM Modi's visit, Dharmendra Pradhan undertakes cleanliness campaign in Varanasi

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday undertook a cleanliness campaign by cleaning the statue of India's first deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel at Maldahiya intersection in Varanasi.

"Started cleanliness campaign by cleaning the statue of Iron Man Sardar Patel with the State President Swatantra Dev Singh and UP BJP members at Maldahiya intersection in Varanasi today, before the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham by Prime Minister Narendra Modion December 13," Pradhan tweeted in Hindi.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji, cleanliness has become the priority of our government and today Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has turned into a mass movement with the immense support of the people. We are all determined to build a clean Kashi, a clean Uttar Pradesh and a clean India," he tweeted.

Dharmendra Pradhan is the BJP's election in charge for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls which are scheduled for next year.

To mark the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham on December 13, Bharatiya Janata Party has planned a three-day celebration 'Divya Kashi Bhavya Kashi' from December 12 to 14 in the PM Modi's Lok Sabha constituency, according to party sources.

"Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate Kashi Vishwanath Dham on December 13. There will be a Diwali-like celebration in Kashi. Every house, temple, ghat will be decorated with the earthen lamps and lights", sources said.

The BJP, under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is seeking another round of victory in elections in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, where it had stormed to power five years ago with a decisive mandate. The party had, in the 2017 polls, won 312 seats with a vote share of 39.67 per cent. This was followed by a strong electoral performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when the BJP won 62 of the state's 80 parliamentary constituencies.

( With inputs from ANI )