PM holds impressive roadshow in Rajkot

"Rajkot has a very important place in my political career. If people of Rajkot had not sent me to Gandhinagar, I would perhaps have not made it to New Delhi,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday at Rajkot.

Mr Modi, who first became chief minister of Gujarat in October 2001, got elected as a legislator to Gujarat Assembly from Rajkot 2 constituency in a by-election. The seat was vacated by current Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, who traditionally represented Rajkot 2 constituency.

“It was 40 years ago when a Prime Minister of India had visited Rajkot. Last time it was Morarji Desai. I am privileged to visit Rajkot and get blessings from you all,” Prime Minister Modi said.

And the people of Rajkot were not to be left behind in welcoming their Prime Minister. The city of Rajkot was decked up for last few days to welcome the Prime Minister. Several parts of the city have been brightened with colourful lights, innumerable cut-outs of Prime Minister, Chief Minister and BJP President dot the roads of the city. All the roads in this hometown of chief minister Vijay Rupani were also decorated with BJP flags.

With state likely to go to Assembly polls by the end of this year, the mega show put up by Prime Minister is part of the objective set by PM and BJP national president Amit Shah to bag 150 of the 182 Assembly seats for the party. Saurashtra, with almost one-third of the seats in the state Assembly plays a key role in changing the fate of parties seeking to grab power in Gandhinagar.

On Thursday, even before his official roadshow began in the evening along 8-km long route, locals from Rajkot gathered at the airport in huge numbers to welcome Prime Minister. In an in impromptu act, Prime Minister climbed out of his official car and acknowledge the welcome of Rajkot en route to his first official function of distributing aids and kits to 18,500 specially-abled people. The locals also thronged the site of Aji dam, that has been filled with waters from Narmada river as part of the Narmada project. The arrival of waters in this water parched region, many believe, could prove to be a boon for locals.

The Prime Minister participated in the dedication of the project and began his 8-km-long roadshow to Rajkot airport. Thousands braved heavy rains throughout the day to acknowledge the Prime Minister along with the route, with BJP workers taking out a bike rally before the event.

The cavalcade of PM was seen passing through the streets of Rajkot, with people standing behind barricades and flashing lights on their cell phones, waving to PM and showering flowers throughout the hour-long road show.