Surat: Narendra Modi stops his cavalcade midway to meet a small girl, embraces the child

New Delhi: The people of Surat city witnessed something unexpected on Monday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprisingly stopped his cavalcade to meet a small girl who by chance ran towards his motorcade. The security guards moving along with the PM first got puzzled and tried to stop the child for her safety. However, Modi ordered to stop his SUV and called Nancy, 4-year-old, towards him. PM embraced the child. Modi sounds poll bugle in Gujarat, holds 11-km long roadshow in Surat city: In Gujarat, virtually sounding the poll bugle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday led a 11-km roadshow in the Surat city, a Patel community stronghold. He was accorded a rousing reception. The roadshow was a mega outreach by PM in the election year. The BJP has decided to project him as the face of 2017 state Assembly polls. It will be a battle of prestige for the Prime Minister in his home state and he first visited to Surat. Surat was the hub of Patidar agitation for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. During the roadshow, stood along the road illuminated with lights of different colours, people chanted "Modi! Modi!" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai", as the PM acknowledged greetings from the cheering crowd. He waved towards them while standing through the open sunroof of an SUV for almost two hours. Interestingly, Modi came to his home state for the first time after the BJP's resounding victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In addition to 3D laser shows at regular intervals and colourful LED light decoration, 11 km-long saree with names of various government schemes printed on it was also tied along the route of the PM. A 1008 metre-long welcome banner signed by over one lakh people was also on display and a 22-feet tall cutout of Modi was also installed near the airport. Modi, after the roadshow, held a meeting with senior state BJP leaders at the Circuit House.