PM Modi cancels Uttarakhand virtual rally due to bad weather today

The first virtual rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Uttarakhand, which was scheduled to take place on Friday morning, February 4, has been cancelled due to inclement weather, said 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. The Prime Minister’s virtual address would have covered various constituencies of Uttarakhand including Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat and Pithoragarh. Fifty-six locations were identified by the saffron party to hold a screening for over 50,000 people across 14 assembly constituencies.

The assembly elections for the 70-seat Uttarakhand assembly are slated to take place on February 14. The BJP is seeking its second term in office is led by incumbent Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. This would have been Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to the hill state after the announcement of the election dates.

The weather has taken a sudden turn 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 and 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.