Modi did a 40-minute roadshow immediately after landing in the city in the afternoon for the BJP's two-day national executive, which is focusing on the road map for 2019, when both Odisha and the Lok Sabha go to polls.
Waving his hands from an open front door of a black Range Rover or walking up to the people lining the streets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did what he was best at in Bhubaneshwar on Saturday — connecting directly with the people.
Modi did a 40-minute roadshow immediately after landing in the city in the afternoon for the BJP's two-day national executive, which is focusing on the road map for 2019, when both Odisha and the Lok Sabha go to polls.
Unlike earlier, this time Modi did not address a public rally at the end of the conclave. Instead, he decided to reach out through smiles, waves and handshakes, a strategy that he had adopted often in the past, particularly in his own Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi.
In plain white kurta-pyjama, the PM stepped out into the sweltering heat and onto the red carpet before getting into his car covered with marigolds. Getting into the front seat and putting on his seat belt, he first went to a dais to garland photographs of six Odisha legends, including Fakir Mohan Senapathy, the father of Odiya nationalism, and Madhusudan Das, who is seen as the maker of modern Odisha. He is to honour the families of 16 Paika freedom fighters on Sunday.
Later, he opened the door of his car and stood up to wave to the people as his cavalcade moved towards Raj Bhavan, where he is to stay. From Raj Bhavan to the Janata Maidan, the venue of the meet, Modi held a roadshow once again. At one point, the crowds gathered to see the PM broke down barricades to get closer to him, with security personnel swinging into action to push them back.
The roads were lined with posters of the Prime Minister, around whom the BJP is weaving a strategy to capture the state from the BJD's Navin Patnaik, who has been ruling the state since 2000. Besides, Odisha is also part of the BJP's strategy to win Lok Sabha seats in states where it has never won in the past.
If the excitement at Modi's road show — the slogan-shouting, clicking of photographs and showering of petals — was any indication, Patnaik could feel the heat in 2019. The Prime Minister communicating directly with the people has been to the advantage of the party, which has highlighted the Centre's welfare schemes in posters put up in the city.
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