With heavy sloganeering from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters and workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed in the Gujarati-dominated suburb — Ghatkopar in Mumbai.
Modi, who went on a 2.2 km roadshow between Ashok Mills in Ghatkopar West and Parshwanath Chowk in Ghatkopar East, was seen waving at supporters accompanied by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP’s North-East candidate Mihir Kotecha and BJP North Central candidate Ujjwal Nikam.
“This is a lifetime opportunity to see our Prime Minister. I have been waiting since afternoon. He has done a lot of work for Mumbai and his party should win,” said 81-year-old Sandhya Bai.
Supporters performed Maharashtra’s traditional dance Lezim, Dandiya and Bhangra while chanting “Modi he aayega (Modi will only come)“ slogans.
Earlier in the day, Modi held rallies in Nashik and Kalyan. In Nashik, he stated that the Congress has been spending 15 per cent of the budget on Muslims and will do it once again if elected.
“Congress would spend 15 per cent of the government budget on minorities. There is only one minority as its beloved vote bank, as the Chief Minister of Gujarat had strongly opposed the idea of spending 15 per cent of the budget on only Muslims. After opposition, they could not implement it but they are determined to implement all old agendas,” Prime Minister Modi said in Nashik according to agencies.
Eighteen-year-old first-time voter Amreen Saiyyad said that she will vote for government performance, “I will be voting for the first time and I am supporting Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. My vote is for Narendra Modi,” she said.
“We have seen Shiv Sena in our area throughout our childhood. We will stand with them and vote for Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena that is supporting BJP,” said 51-year-old Nilofar Mehboob Shaikh.