Prime Minister Narendra Modi took out a roadshow in Palakkad town on Tuesday morning, infusing enthusiasm and excitement in thousands of Bharatiya Janata Party workers who gathered here from far and near to greet him.
It was Mr. Modi’s second visit to Kerala within a week as part of the BJP’s election campaign. He addressed a BJP rally in Pathanamthitta on March 15. BJP leaders said Mr. Modi would come to Kerala again to campaign for the party’s key candidates in April.
The helicopter carrying the Prime Minister landed at the Mercy College ground here at 10.20 a.m. From there he proceeded to Fort Maidan by road. He boarded an open vehicle bedecked with yellow and orange flowers in front of the municipality building, which was the first urban civic body in Kerala to have the BJP in power.
The roadshow started at 10.45 a.m. from Anjuvilakku Junction and proceeded along the heavily barricaded Court Road towards the Head Post Office. Daring the scorching heat, thousands of BJP workers who lined up on both sides of the road cheered in frenzy: “Modi, Modi”.
Wearing a white half-sleeve cotton kurti with a black lotus badge on the chest and a shawl with black borders hanging around his neck, Mr. Modi sported a saffron cap with a patch of embroidery on it. The cap designed by the Gujarat wing of the BJP is becoming popular among the BJP leaders in the North and is being branded as Modi cap.
He waived to the cheering crowds, and at times did Namaste with folded hands, as they threw marigold petals at him.
Mr. Modi was flanked by BJP’s Palakkad candidate C. Krishnakumar on his left and Ponnani candidate Nivedita Subramanian on his right. BJP State president K. Surendran and two SPG guards stood behind. Although the BJP had announced that its Malappuram candidate M. Abdul Salam would join the roadshow, Dr. Salam was dropped presumably because of the lack of space in the vehicle.
At times, Mr. Modi threw back a handful of flower petals to the crowds. The roadshow covered nearly one kilometre in half-an-hour and concluded at Head Post Office at 11.15 a.m.
The Prime Minister proceeded to the Mercy College grounds in his vehicle and from there he left in the helicopter.
Elaborate security arrangements were made for Mr. Modi’s visit. More than 2,000 police personnel were deployed across the town, and many in mufti. Almost all buildings along the one-kilometre route from Anjuvilakku Junction to Head Post Office had monitoring police personnel in them.
Heavy traffic restrictions were imposed in the town from early morning until the Prime Minister’s departure. Barricades were erected in two layers on both sides of Court Road.
BJP workers started flowing in from different parts of the district from 7 a.m. and they waited with excitement in the searing heat of the sun. A couple of them swooned because of the heat, but their enthusiasm reached a crescendo as they had an up-close meeting with Mr. Modi.
