BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Odisha on September 27, his sixth trip to the state since the 2024 elections when the BJP snatched power from the BJD.
Revenue minister Suresh Pujari on Saturday said the state government has received confirmation on the forthcoming one-day tour of Modi. He is scheduled to address a public rally possibly at Chhatrapur, the headquarters of Ganjam district. The prime minister is likely to launch several projects during his visit but details of the programme are yet to be finalised, Pujari said.
“This will be the sixth visit of the prime minister to the state in the last 14 months after BJP came to power in the state. The PM’s forthcoming visit will be unique in the sense that he has never visited any other state so many times in little more than a year. This shows his love for Odisha and his commitment to the development of the state under his Purvodaya Mission,” Pujari said.
Minister for Commerce and Transport Bibhuti Bhushan Jena, who is looking after the ground preparation for the public meeting, told mediapersons, “We are looking for a suitable site in and around Berhampur as more than three lakh people are expected to attend the meeting. The district leaders of the party are also being consulted to identify the site.”
Pujari said he will visit Berhampur on September 15 to oversee arrangements being made for the PM’s visit. The Revenue minister will hold a meeting with the district administration and district functionaries of the party as well.
Sources in the BJP said that the PM’s visit is part of the party’s over two-week-long ‘Seva Paksha’, a public outreach programme, to be observed from September 17 to October 2. The commencement and conclusion of the pakhwada mark the birthday of PM Modi on September 17 and the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2.
Modi had last visited the state on June 20 to commemorate the one-year completion of the first BJP government in the state led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. He had addressed a public meeting at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar.