Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attended a mass wedding event at Bhavnagar in Gujarat and blessed couples. On the occasion, the prime minister advised the newlyweds not to throw a separate wedding reception after returning home due to family pressure, but rather to save that money for their children. Modi was in Gujarat, which will have Assembly elections in December, news agency PTI reported.
The event was organised at Jawahar Maidan by a foundation.
"Gujarat has gradually adopted this practice of mass weddings. Earlier, people used to borrow money for organising a grand function just to show off. But now, people have become aware. They have now turned to mass-marriage functions," PM Modi quoted as saying by PTI.
At the huge celebration, 551 girls whose fathers had died tied the knot.
On the occasion, the prime minister urged the newlyweds to contribute to society in whatever way they can, such as stopping the wasting of food and segregating dry waste from biodegradable kitchen waste.
He had earlier addressed a crowd in the Valsad district.
PM Modi's visit to his home state today is his first since the Gujarat assembly elections schedule was released by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
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In the state, the election will be held in two phases, with the first phase consisting of 89 assembly constituencies voting on December 1 and the second phase consisting of 93 assembly constituencies voting on December 5, with votes being counted on December 8 and the entire process completed by December 10.
The BJP has won six consecutive assembly elections in Gujarat. The Congress is keen to choose candidates early so that they have more time to campaign, and it hopes to bolster its campaign through yatras.
In contrast to previous elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is running full-throttle this year, led by Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Leader Arvind Kejriwal, creating a triangular battle.
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The ABP-CVoter Opinion Poll predicts that the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party will win a seventh consecutive term in Gujarat, with a margin of 135 to 143 seats, an increase of 40 seats.
The BJP's best success in Gujarat occurred in the December 2002 elections, when it won 127 of the total 182 seats.
The BJP's vote total fell to 99 in 2017, while Congress increased its vote total by 16 to 77.
(With Inputs From PTI)