On the last day of campaigning in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took off in a seaplane from the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to pray at the famous Ambaji temple, as he showcased the development in his home state.
Modi landed at Dharoi Dam, about 180 km away from Ahmedabad and then headed to the famous Ambaji temple in Mehsana to offer prayers.
He will address a public rally in the constituency as well as it is represented by deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and was the hotbed of patidar stir, making it a crucial seat.
The seaplane ride was Plan B after the PM’s roadshow in Ahmedabad on Tuesday was cancelled due to security concerns. His return journey would also be by the same sea-plane.
With the second and final phase of polls due on Thursday, Modi has been in the state consecutively for the last four days. Since the election notification for Gujarat, Modi has been a very frequent visitor to the state to campaign for the ruling BJP.
Many have termed the plane ride a masterstroke of PM Modi to showcase the development that has taken place under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the last 22 years.
The Election Commission of India, while announcing the elections for Himachal Pradesh, had postponed announcement of the Gujarat elections, which the opposition Congress alleged was aimed to allow Prime Minister Modi and the BJP to launch initiatives like the Ro-Ro Ferry service, the Bullet train and other programmes.
Earlier, local authorities had denied Modi and Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi to hold rallies in the financial capital of Gujarat, Ahmedabad.
Tuesday is the last day for campaigning for the elections and all the political campaigning will halt at 5 p.m.
Door-to-door campaigning will be allowed wearing the party symbol on caps and T-shirts.
The second phase polls on Thursday will see around two crore voters decide the fate of 1,828 candidates fighting for 93 assembly seats.