Bhubaneswar, May 10 (Representative) A sea of humanity converged on both sides of the 2.5 km stretch of the busy Janapath in the state capital here on Friday night to catch a glimpse of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held a mega road show. Soon after he arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), the motorcade of Prime Minister Modi proceeded to the party office, from where he began his road show from Ram Mandir to Vani Vihar. This was the second campaign visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the state, drawing a humongous crowd during his road show in Bhubaneswar. Modi drove along the long stretch of Janpath street, flanked by massive gatherings who waited for long hours to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister.
His motorcade was preceded by a large group of women wearing Sambalpuri sarees with the BJP symbol on their hands. In a nutshell, it can be said that it was a jaw-dropping turnout of the people, much to the relief of the BJP leaders in the state. The spectacular road show also reverberated with the beating of drums, singing of songs, and dancing to the tune of music on the two-and-a-half-kilometer stretch, where at least 12 stages were erected, depicting the culture and tradition of Odisha.
The Prime Minister’s road show, which started around 8:30 PM, took almost one and a half hours as his cavalcade moved slowly with Modi to reach the Vani Vihar, the destination, accompanied by the party’s Odisha unit President Manmohan Samal and the party’s Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha candidate, Aparajita Sarangi. People from all walks of life, who thronged either side of the road, were seen reciprocating the Prime Minister’s waves of the party symbol. The huge crowd welcomed him, shouting slogans of “Modi Modi”, waving party flags, and holding cut-outs of the Prime Minister. After completing the roadshow, Modi drove to Raj Bhawan, where he would spend the night. He would visit three parliamentary constituencies – Kandhamal, Bolangir, and Bargarh on Saturday to address three election meetings in support of the party candidates. The Commissionerate of Police had made massive security arrangements by deploying nearly 55 platoons of police force, three units of anti-terrorism squads, besides bomb and dog squads, under the supervision of senior police officers of various ranks.