Congress vice president, however, made it to the state and addressed a rally in Kutch, while calling off three campaign meetings planned in Morbi, Dhrangadhra and Surendranagar town.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, appealed to BJP workers to extend a helping hand to those who would likely be hit by the cyclone.
As per the latest forecast released by the Meteorological Centre here, the cyclone is approaching Gujarat steadily and now lies centred in the Arabian Sea just 390 kms away from the coastline near Surat.
The IMD has forecast light to moderate rainfall in most places with heavy rainfall at isolated places in Saurashtra and south Gujarat.
Also Read
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi held a poll rally at Anjar in Kutch district but cancelled three other campaign meetings in Morbi, Dhrangadhra and Surendranagar town due to the impending cyclone.
The BJP also called off rallies and press conferences of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Surat today, a party leader said.
Former Congress strongman Shankersinh Vaghela, who floated his 'Jan Vikalp' front, was also forced to cancel his roadshows and rallies that were to be held in Junagadh, and Mahuva and Palitana towns of Saurashtra, a leader of his outfit said.
Though Vaghela was supposed to reach Surat tonight, he dropped his plan due to the approaching cyclone.
"With CycloneOckhi expected to make a landfall in Gujarat, I appeal to BJP Gujarat Karyakartas (workers) to focus on helping people across the state. Our Karyakartas should devote themselves to providing all possible assistance and stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow citizens," Modi tweeted.
Inspired by his tweet, BJP leaders in Surat suspended all their campaign-related work and began shifting people to safer places, the ruling party MLA from Surat's Majura seat, Harsh Sanghvi, said.
Meanwhile, as forecast by the weatherman, several districts were receiving light rain since morning today, even as almost the entire state witnessed overcast skies.
The Met centre has warned that when the cyclone hits the Gujarat coast, wind speed would remain between 50 and 60 kmph and may reach up to 70 kmph in south Gujarat.
Dharmarpur town of southern Gujarat received a maximum rainfall of 25 mm, he said.
The other districts experiencing a wet spell are Botad, Arvalli, Chhotaudepur, Dahod, Mahisagar, Sabarkantha, Navsari and Rajkot.
Gujarats chief secretary J N Singh interacted with the collectors of coastal districts via video conference to review their preparedness to deal with any eventuality, Kumar added.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content