Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Odisha on Friday for the second time in less than a week and hold a roadshow here in the evening in support of BJP nominees ahead of the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state, a party leader said.
He will lead the two-km roadshow from Sri Ram Mandir to Vani Vihar Chhak in Bhubaneswar where BJP's sitting MP Aparajita Sarangi is contesting.
The BJP fielded Babu Singh, Jagannath Pradhan and Priyadarshi Mishra from three assembly seats in Bhubaneswar.
"The prime minister will hold the roadshow from 8 pm on Friday. He will stay the night at the Raj Bhavan," Odisha BJP vice-president Golak Mohapatra said.
This will be Modi’s second roadshow in the state in five years. PM Modi will also address three public rallies – the first in Kandhamal at 9.30 am on Saturday, the second in Bolangir at 11.30 am and another in Bargarh at 1 pm.
The prime minister had visited the state on May 5 and held two election rallies. Tight security arrangements have been made for the roadshow and the poll rallies on Saturday, a police officer said.
The police deployed 55 platoons (each platoon comprises 30 personnel) and would impose traffic restrictions on the Janpath from 2 pm on Friday for the event, he said.
"Apart from over 1,500 police personnel, five DCP ranked officers, 10 additional DCPs, 27 ACPs, 41 inspectors and 180 sub-inspectors are being deployed for the PM’s roadshow," Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda said.
Three teams of special tactical unit (STU) and police personnel in plainclothes will also be deployed during the event, he said. Bhubaneswar MP Sarangi appealed to people to join the roadshow in large numbers.
