Lok Sabha polls: PM Modi likely to kickstart electioneering in Punjab on May 23
May 19, 2024
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], May 19 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Punjab for the BJP's election campaigning on May 23 and will extensively participate in the party's electioneering for two days.
Speaking to ANI, Punjab BJP Secretary Rakesh Rathour said on Sunday that the Prime Minister will address three public rallies in Punjab on May 23 and 24.
PM Modi will address a public rally in the second half of the day on May 23 in Patiala, followed by another rally the next day in Gurdaspur on May 24, Rathour said, adding that the Prime Minister will also address a public rally in Jalandhar on May 24 in the second half on Friday.
Voting on the 13 seats in Punjab will take place on June 1.
The schedule announcement comes days after Union Minister and senior BJP leader Hardeep Singh Puri asserted to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Punjab's Ferozepur again as he recalled the security breach incident earlier in January 2022, due to which the PM's visit was called off midway.
Puri said that the BJP is contesting all Lok Sabha seats in Punjab on its own for the first time after a long time and expressed confidence in the party receiving a positive response in the elections.
According to government sources, earlier in March this year, the central government sought a detailed action-taken report from the Punjab government over the Prime Minister's security breach during his visit to the state on January 5, 2022.
On January 5, 2022, the Prime Minister's convoy was held up at a flyover due to a blockade by protestors in Ferozepur, after which he returned from Punjab without attending any event, including a rally.
An apex court committee, which enquired into a security lapse after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy was held up on a flyover in Punjab on January 5, blamed a senior State police officer for failing to discharge his duty to maintain law and order despite the availability of sufficient personnel, the Supreme Court said. Seven Punjab cops including Bathinda SP were suspended for the security breach.
