Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu joined Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Varanasi on September 17, 2026, for programmes marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 76th birthday and the launch of the BJP’s Seva Sankalp Abhiyan. Naidu’s itinerary included prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple and participation in the Varanasi-Vadnagar Seva Yatra programme.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan, Union Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary and other leaders also attended. The delegation performed religious rituals at Kashi Vishwanath Temple and prayed for Modi’s health and long life. After the rituals, the leaders distributed 76 kg of laddoos as prasad to bikers taking part in the yatra.
Why Naidu Was In Varanasi Naidu travelled to Varanasi primarily to take part in the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, which began on Modi’s birthday. The BJP is running the month-long campaign from September 17 to October 17 to mark what it describes as Modi’s 25 years in public service, covering his tenure as Gujarat chief minister and his years as prime minister.
The Varanasi-Vadnagar Seva Yatra forms a major part of the programme. It connects Varanasi, Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, with Vadnagar in Gujarat, his birthplace. Rajnath Singh and Yogi Adityanath joined Naidu and other NDA leaders at the Rudraksh International Convention Centre for the Varanasi-to-Vadnagar motorcycle yatra programme. Organisers also arranged a corresponding journey from Vadnagar towards Varanasi.
The programme called for 51 Seva Yatris to collect Ganga water from Lalita Ghat and perform Jalabhishek at Kashi Vishwanath Temple before the journey. The wider campaign includes service activities and public outreach programmes. Naidu Backs Modi’s Developed India Goal During the Varanasi programme, Naidu described the occasion as historic and said he was happy to celebrate Modi’s birthday in Kashi.
He also said India would become a developed nation in another 25 years under Modi’s leadership and spoke about service to the country. Rajnath Singh said the leaders had prayed for Modi’s long and healthy life and for India to achieve its developed-nation goal. Yogi Adityanath also spoke about Modi’s health and longevity and linked the occasion to the goal of a self-reliant and developed India.
Naidu’s Varanasi visit was therefore part of a scheduled programme involving senior NDA leaders, not a standalone temple visit. His itinerary combined Kashi Vishwanath prayers, Modi’s birthday observances and the Varanasi-Vadnagar Seva Yatra programme.