Narendra Modi to visit Gujarat today, address over 7 lakh BJP workers ahead of Assembly polls

In the run-up to the high-octane Gujarat Assembly election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit his home state and address a gathering of over seven lakh BJP workers in a village outside Gandhinagar on Monday. The prime minister will address the ‘Gujarat Gaurav Mahasammelan’ being organised by BJP’s state unit to celebrate the conclusion of ‘Gujarat Gaurav Yatra (march for Gujarat’s honour)’.

I bow to the people of Gujarat for blessing BJP for decades. We will always fulfil the dreams of every Gujarati with full strength & vigour

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 15, 2017

In a series of tweets, Modi said that the two ‘Gujarat Gaurav Yatras’ “showcased the spirit of jan shakti (people’s power) and reflected Gujarat’s strong faith in politics of development and good governance”. Senior leaders of the party had joined the 15-day march, which was launched on 1 October. The yatra comprised of two chariots. One chariot began its journey from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birthplace Karamsad, covering 1,361 kilometres and 76 Assembly constituencies in central and north Gujarat regions. The second chariot began its journey from Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace of Porbandar on 2 October, and travelled a distance of 2395 kilometres covering 73 assembly seats in Saurashtra and south Gujarat. [caption id=“attachment_4146583” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Narendra Modi visited Gujarat last week and inaugurated several projects. Twitter @narendramodi[/caption] In total, the yatra covered a distance of around 4,471 kilometres, spread over 149 of the 182 Assembly constituencies in the state, Gujarat BJP chief Jeetubhai Vaghani said. “Tomorrow, the prime minister will give his guidance to around seven lakh BJP workers at the Gujarat Gaurav Mahasammelan to be held in Bhat village,” Vaghani said on Sunday. Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, BJP national president Amit Shah and many other leaders of the party would be present at the rally as well. Modi has frequently been visiting the state, which is expected to go to elections before 18 December, a month before the term of the present Assembly ends. BJP has been ruling Gujarat since 1995, when the Keshubhai Patel-led party dethroned the Congress, winning 121 seats. Last week, Modi had visited Gujarat to inaugurate and lay foundation stones of various projects in Rajkot, Vadnagar, Gandhinagar and Bharuch. The prime minister had also held a roadshow in his hometown Vadnagar on 8 October. Modi had also visited Gujarat in September when he welcomed his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Ahmedabad. On 13 September, Abe and Modi had begun their visit with an eight-kilometre road show where the Japan prime minister was accorded a grand welcome. The two leaders had also held the 12th India-Japan annual Summit meeting at Gandhinagar. Significantly, Modi and Abe had also laid the foundation stone for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project. On 17 September, which was also his 67th birthday, Modi had  inaugurated the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river. Modi had also visited Gujarat in June  this year when he visited Ahmedabad to celebrate the centenary of the Sabarmati Ashram. Modi had also visited Modasa in north Gujarat to launch several developmental projects. With inputs from agencies