New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in his home state Gujarat to cast his vote in the third phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. The Prime Minister reached his mother Heeraben’s residence in Gandhinagar in early morning hours on Tuesday. Media personnel captured the moment PM reached his mother’s home before casting his vote in neighbouring Ahmedabad. After the brief meeting, the PM came out and walked the road in front of his mother’s house. A red gota chunri was also seen in his hands. The PM later cast his vote in Ranip after the visit.Â
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Prime Minister @narendramodi met his mother at her residence in Gandhinagar today. He will cast his vote in Ahmedabad, Gujarat shortly.
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) April 23, 2019
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A video tweeted by news agency showed PM Modi talking to his mother Heeraben. As part of tradition, Heeraben give the PM a coconut, a chunri and Rs 500 as neg. Reports say that the chuniri was from Mahakali Mandir of Pavagadh in Gujarat’s Champaner. Later, PM Modi touched her feet and left for voting.
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#WATCH | PM @narendramodi meets his mother Heeraben Modi at her residence in Gandhinagar, Gujarat and takes her blessings.
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) April 23, 2019
📸: ANI#ElectionsWithNewsNation
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READ: https://t.co/Xpt3Sr8X2s pic.twitter.com/7v6gzZilAe
He also met people in the neighbourhood. For many, this was a reminder of 2017, when PM had reached Ranip to cast his vote during the prestigious Gujarat Assembly Elections. At that time also, PM Modi had held a mini roadshow outside the polling booth in Ranip. He was seen waving and smiling to the people lined up to cast their votes. The prime minister walked a certain distance to greet people standing on both sides of the road outside the polling booth. Later, he stood on the foot-board of his car and waived to the crowd.
It is still not known whether PM Modi's mother, Heeraben, who is in her late 90s, will also cast her vote today at a polling booth in Gandhinagar like 2017 or not.
Narendra Modi is close to his mother, whom he visits whenever he's in Gujarat. She lives with his brother Pankaj on the outskirts of Gandhinagar. He dutifully meets her on his birthdays. Heeraben and his father, Damodardas Modi, played a "very big role" in his life, Modi had said at number of times. It wasn't until earlier that year that Modi had been able to host Heeraben at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg (then called Race Course Road), the Prime Minister's official residence. He tweeted photographs of him showing her around his garden, and said he'd been able to spend quality time with her after a while.
More than a year later, in November 2016, Heeraben was in the news for an entirely different reason. Days after her son told his compatriots that their Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bills would cease to be legal tender in a matter of hours, she was seen exchanging defunct bills at a bank in Gandhinagar.
Out of 116 seats going to poll today BJP has to defend 62 seats while Congress has to defend 16 seats. BJP had won all 26 seats in Gujarat in 2014.
