Patidar outreach, focus on cooperative sector: PM Modi visits Gujarat today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a two-day visit to his home state of Gujarat on Saturday where he will be attending events in Rajkot and Gandhinagar.

His two-day schedule begins with a visit to a multispeciality hospital in Rajkot, a statement from his office said. “Will be in Gujarat today, where I will be attending programmes in Rajkot and Gandhinagar. These programmes cover key sectors such as healthcare, cooperatives and farmer welfare,” the prime minister said in a tweet on Saturday morning. “At 10:30 AM I will visit the Matushri K.D.P. Multispeciality Hospital, which would play a key role in addressing healthcare needs of people in Saurashtra (sic),” he added.

Gujarat’s cooperative sector has played a big role in the state’s progress, PM Modi underlined, as he tweeted: “I look forward to being among stalwarts of the cooperative sector at the ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’ programme in Gandhinagar at 4 PM.”

More than 7,000 representatives from various cooperative institutions of the state will take part in the event, a statement from the PM’s office said.

On Saturday morning, after the visit to the newly constructed hospital, PM Modi is likely to address an event, which is being viewed as outreach to the Patidar community, which constitutes about 12-14 per cent of the state’s population.

“We aim to gather about three lakh people for the event. This could be one of the largest gatherings addressed by any political leader in recent times,” an official at Shree Patel Sewa Samaj told HT.

Modi has been the chief minister of Gujarat for three terms. He often recalls his days as Gujarat CM while talking about his political and administrative experience. During his visit to his home state, he often meets his mother too.

The state is set to vote later this year for the next government.