Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 76th birthday, wishing him “good health and a long life”. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, too, wished him on the occasion.

PM Modi, who was born on September 17, 1950, in Vadnagar, Gujarat, turned 76 on Thursday.

“Best wishes to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji on his birthday. May he be blessed with good health and long life,” Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X.

Best wishes to Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi Ji on his birthday. May he be blessed with good health and long life.@narendramodi

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 17, 2026

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also extended his wishes in a post on X, saying, “Happy birthday to PM Narendra Modi ji. Wishing you good health and a long life.”

Happy birthday to PM Narendra Modi ji. Wishing you good health and a long life.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 17, 2026

DMK president and former chief minister M K Stalin also wished Modi good health, happiness and a long life.

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76 priests perform Ganga Abhishek in Varanasi for PM Modi’s birthday

Seventy-six young priests performed special prayers and milk abhishek of the Ganga in Varanasi on Thursday, seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s good health and long life. Local BJP MLA and former Uttar Pradesh minister Neelkanth Tiwari led the programme on the banks of the river.

Varanasi: People offer prayers at the Ahilyabai Ghat on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, in Varanasi, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026.

The priests, or ‘batuks‘, performed the rituals amid Vedic chants, while several attendees carried photographs of Modi, who represents Varanasi in the Lok Sabha.

Several other programmes have been planned in Varanasi, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union minister Chirag Paswan, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders expected to attend. A motorcycle journey from Varanasi to Modi’s birthplace Vadnagar is also planned.

In Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged citizens to light candles and earthen lamps (diya, chaki) to celebrate PM Modi’s birthday.