Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a two-day visit to his home State Gujarat held three road shows; met top party functionaries to brainstorm on the forthcoming Assembly polls; addressed over 50,000 elected representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions; dedicated a new building at the Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) and attended its convocation; inaugurated the Gujarat Government’s annual sports event, the Khel Mahakumbh; attended a Somnath temple trust meeting; and visited his mother in Gandhinagar.
During his two day visit, the Prime Minister was accompanied by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and State party chief C.R. Paatil, who is known for his proximity to the PM.
On Friday, the PM undertook a road show in an open vehicle from the Ahmedabad airport to the State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Gandhinagar.
His first road show of Saturday was from Dehgam town in Gandhinagar district to Lavad village, where the RRU is situated. Recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the university was set up when Mr. Modi was the Chief Minister of the State.
While he left the Raj Bhavan in Gandhi Nagar in a car, he shifted to an open vehicle on reaching Dehgam. The Chief Minister accompanied him. Mr. Modi waved to people who lined both sides of the 12 km stretch of road in large numbers, welcoming him with flower petals and garlands.
The second road show of the day was in the evening, from Indira bridge to the Sardar Patel stadium in Ahmedabad, where Mr. Modi launched the gala sports event. Here, he said India had begun making its presence felt at international sporting events like the Olympics.
The PM’s action-packed visit has put the party on election mode as the State goes to Assembly polls later in November-December this year.
Mr. Modi’s visit to Gujarat came a day after the BJP registered a splendid victory in the Assembly elections in four States, including the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh.
