Ahmedabad: On the last day of campaigning for Gujarat elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew in a seaplane from the Sabarmati Riverfront to Dharoi Dam, a reservoir near Ambaji, to hold a rally in the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party said it was “the first-ever flight by a seaplane in the country”.
With the second and final phase of polls due on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi has been in Gujarat for the last four days. Modi has been a very frequent visitor to the state to boost the BJP campaign.
Asked the reason for the Prime Minister taking a seaplane, Jagdish Bhavsar, an official of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, “You can take this gesture of the Prime Minister as our other programmes like the Ro-Ro Ferry Service, or the Bullet Train project or the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). You can take this new programme as one of the initiatives of the BJP.”
After reaching Dharoi Dam reservoir, Modi visited the Ambaji temple where he is expected to address a pubic gathering. Modi will fly back to Ahmedabad by the same plane in the evening.
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 the political campaigning will halt at 5pm.
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.
