With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set for a two-day visit to Gujarat from Friday evening, the ruling BJP leadership is busy promoting a mobile app to enable supporters to connect with him to wish him on his birthday on September 17.
The ruling party aims to rope in at least five lakh people to upload the app.
The aggressive promotion of the app comes in the backdrop of a flop BJP programme in Surat recently when Patel youngsters disrupted a show of strength in the presence of party president Amit Shah amid the simmering Patidar and Dalit agitations.
With leaders of both the agitations -- Hardik Patel of the Patidars and Jignesh Mewani of the Dalits -- in their twenties, the task of promoting the mobile app has been assigned to the state Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing.
A special booth has been set up at the state BJP headquarters 'Shree Kamalam' on the outskirts of state capital Gandhinagar.
Party sources said trained volunteers will also meet youngsters in different educational institutes and encourage them to connect with Modi.
Modi, who will stay at his home on his 66th birthday, is visiting the state for the second time in less than a month.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has said that the app will be a great opportunity for the people to connect and greet the Prime Minister through the 'Narendra Modi App' on his birthday.
Modi is slated to reach Ahmedabad after 9 p.m. on Friday and will be greeted at the airport by hundreds of party workers.
His convoy will then drive to Raj Bhavan where he is to make a night halt. The Prime Minister will visit his nonagenarian mother Hira Ba on Saturday in Gandhinagar to seek her blessings.
Afterwards, Modi is expected to return to the Raj Bhavan and hold a meeting with state BJP functionaries, including the Chief Minister, ministers and important office-bearers.
The Prime Minister will leave for Limkheda in the tribal district of Dahod to inaugurate the government's water and irrigation schemes entailing an expenditure of Rs 1,755 crore. Here, he will also address a huge tribal rally.
Thereafter, Modi will fly to south Gujarat's Navsari town to address 'Samajik Adhikarita Shibir' for specially abled children. He will then leave for Surat and fly back to Delhi by an Indian Air Force aircraft.
Sources in the Gujarat Administrative Department (GAD) said that Modi will use road routes from Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar on Friday and to reach his brother's house on Saturday morning.
For Limkheda in central Gujarat and Navsari functions, the Prime Minister will travel by a helicopter, said an official source.
--IANS
desai/tsb/bg
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