Modi to campaign in Gujarat for 72 hours: Here are the details

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head to poll-bound Gujarat this weekend and is expected to participate in at least eight programmes, crisscrossing the state from Saurashtra to Surat.

The highlight of PM Modi's tour is his visit to the famous Somnath temple on November 20. The prime minister is also the chairman of the Somnath Temple Trust.

After landing in Gujarat on November 19 evening, the prime minister will address a rally in Valsad.

On November 20, after visiting the Somnath temple, he is scheduled to address four rallies in the Saurashtra region. Venues have been finalised at Veraval, Dhorarji, Amreli and Botad.

Incidentally, in the last assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party was not able to win from a single assembly constituency in Saurashtra. The BJP won the state polls but wasn't able to breach this bastion that has traditionally voted for the Congress.

On day 3, PM Modi will hold three rallies in Surendranagar, Bharuch and Navsari.

While Bharuch was the constituency of the former Congress strongman Ahmed Patel in the past, the BJP state president CR Patil, who hails from Navsari, has been winning this Lok Sabha seat with huge margins.

Incidentally, Congress Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi is also expected to visit Navsari on November 21, the same day as PM Modi.

Modi, who hails from Gujarat, is also expected to have a closed-door meeting with state leaders during his stay to further boost the party in the western state.

In Gujarat, the BJP has been in power for the last 27 years with Narendra Modi being the longest-serving chief minister of the state.

This time, the party under the leadership of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and CR Patil is aiming to bag more than 140 seats.

The state has been a BJP stronghold for long and the party is confident of forming the government for the seventh term.

Gujarat, which has 182 assembly constituencies, will go for polling in two phases on December 1 and 5. Counting of votes will take place on December 8, along with Himachal Pradesh.