Months ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow tonight here in the main city of the Saurashtra region, where he was greeted by thousands of people.
This was the second roadshow of Modi in poll-bound Gujarat, where elections are due by the year-end. He had held a similar programme in Surat in April, virtually launching the poll campaign of the BJP, which is in power in the state for more than two decades now.
This is Modi's fourth visit to his home state, where the saffron party is again eyeing a big poll victory, since March.
The prime minister started his roadshow from the Aji dam area and travelled through some of the important landmarks of the city, covering a distance of 8 kms.
He was seen waving at the huge crowd, which had gathered on both sides of the streets, while the people showered rose petals and threw garlands at him.
Rajkot has a special place in Modi's political career. He was elected to the Assembly from the Rajkot-II seat after being appointed the chief minister of Gujarat in 2001. He continued to occupy the post till May 2014, when he became the prime minister and moved to New Delhi.
The roadshow ended at the airport after almost an hour. The city was specially decorated for the high-profile event.
Modi, who is on a two-day Gujarat visit, started the roadshow after welcoming the waters of the Narmada river into the Aji dam, a key source of water for the city.
The BJP has set a target of winning at least 150 of the 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat.
The party has come up with a number of strategies to achieve the target and as a part of those plans, Modi, currently the most popular BJP leader in the country, has been coming to the state every month since March, said party sources.
BJP president Amit Shah, the saffron party's chief poll strategist, has also increased the frequency of his visits to Gujarat, which is his home state as well.
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