THRISSUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted by thousands of people, who waved and showered flowers, during his roadshow to the venue of the Mahila Sammelanam on Wednesday.
Looking to make a political statement, Modi was accompanied on the specially redesigned vehicle by BJP state president K Surendran, former Rajya Sabha MP and the party’s most-likely candidate from Thrissur parliamentary seat Suresh Gopi, and Mahila Morcha state president Nivedida Subramanian.
Although, Modi was expected to leave the vehicle to walk along the path, as had happened during his last visit in Kochi, that did not transpire. But there was no shortage of sloganeering and cheering.
“It was a dream come true for us to see the prime minister in Sakthan’s land. It was not the first time the PM was visiting Thrissur, but this time it was more enthusiastic as BJP has been gaining ground in Kerala,” said Bineesh, one of the spectators.
Many BJP activists from various parts of the district waited from 1pm for the roadshow, from Hospital Junction to Naikkanal Junction on Swaraj Round, which started at 3.30pm and lasted 15 minutes.
There seemed to have been a change of plan on the final stretch, as the vehicle, instead of entering the main gate of the sammelanam venue, drove straight ahead towards another entry point. Police officers had to respond frantically to the change in course, but chaos was avoided.