Gods, Goddesses and Modi in Varanasi

Another attempt to deify Modi was made by modifying a Sanskrit couplet used in praise of Godess Durga: "Yo Modi sarva bhooteshu rashtra rupen sansthita, namas tasyey, namas tasyey namas tasyey namo namah", replacing the word 'devi' with 'Namo'.

Modi's name has been shortened to NaMo to make it easy to pronounce.

Vinodanand Tiwari, who teaches Russian at the Banaras Hindu University, believes that only Modi can "effectively neutralize the anti-national, pro-Pakistan elements".

"All those who claim to be secular have only pandered to the Muslims and indulged in Hindu-bashing," he added.

The largely poor Muslim weavers of Banarasi sarees, however, remember the Gujarat 2002 violence and vow to vote against Modi in the Lok Sabha polls.