New Delhi: In view of the inclement weather, the maiden virtual rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled in Uttarakhand on Friday morning has been cancelled, according to the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday.
"Keeping the safety of people who would come to attend this virtual rally in mind, the party decided to cancel the rally," said an official statement from BJP, as quoted in news agency ANI. The Prime Minister was expected to cover four constituencies of Uttarakhand including Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat and Pithoragarh.
Almost 56 locations were identified by the BJP to hold a screening for over 50,000 people across 14 assembly constituencies. The assembly elections for the 70-seat Uttarakhand assembly are scheduled to take place on February 14.
One of the major parties in the state, the BJP is vying for a second term in office led by incumbent chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. This would have been Prime Minister Modi's first campaign for Uttarakhand after the announcement of the election dates.
The weather conditions have suddenly deteriorated in states like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh over the last 48 hours including rainfall that has been witnessed in the national capital as well.
According to India Meteorological Department, heavy to very heavy rain/snowfall (at places with height 2,500 m and above) is likely to occur at a few places in districts of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand with intense to very intense showers at isolated places in Nainital, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar districts from the evening of February 3 till the evening of February 4.