PM Modi is holding a roadshow in Kerala’s Kochi.
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow in Kerala’s Kochi, where he landed this evening for a two-day visit. Visuals from the spot showed the Prime Minster — surrounded by security personnel — walking the road lined with cheering supporters in what was clearly a departure from his usual practice of riding an open-top vehicle.
Dressed in traditional Kerala attire, PM Modi was seen waving to people on both sides of the 2-km route from the INS Garuda naval air station to the venue of a youth programme. PM Modi had landed at the naval air station after 5 pm. The BJP expects “Yuvam 2023” to be a game changer in Kerala politics.
The entire area was under a tight security net, with thousands of police personnel deployed to ensure the Prime Minister’s safety. After walking for over 15 minutes, he was led to a following SUV by his security personnel.
The Prime Minister’s move to walk during the roadshow in Kerala is seen as a show of confidence in a state where his party is hoping to make huge inroads ahead of next year’s general election.
Over the last months, the BJP has been aggressively focused on Kerala, not only announcing multiple infrastructure projects but also courting the state’s Christian and Muslim communities, which have influence over a chunk of seats.
Later this evening, the Prime Minister is expected to meet a group of eight bishops from the state’s various Christian sects. It would be his second interaction with the community in three weeks.
The meeting comes on the heels of the BJP’s outreach programme “Sneha Yatra”, as part of which party leaders visited Christian and Muslim homes during Easter and Eid.
Over the next two days PM Modi will be attending several programmes, including flagging off a Vande Bharat Express.
On Tuesday, he will lay the foundation for the country’s first Digital Science Park. The Rs-1,500-crore project will be a multidisciplinary cluster-based interactive-innovation zone focused on digital technologies and is expected to be completed in two years.
The BJP had scooped up 12.4 per cent of the state’s votes in the last assembly election but failed to win a single seat.
Its outreach campaign recently received a shot in the arm when a senior Bishop — Thalassery Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany — of the influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church said if the Centre promised to increase the rate of rubber procurement to Rs 300 per kg, the party might gain an MP from the state.
