Ahead of back-to-back poll rallies, PM Modi visits iconic Somnath temple in Gujarat

After he reached his home state of Gujarat on Saturday, following back-to-back visits to Itanagar in Arunachal and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is raising the poll pitch in the election-bound state. The Prime Minister kicked off his day with a visit to the iconic Somnath Temple. Soon after the temple visit, he addressed a rally in Veeraval, hailed as the hub of fishing industries. This will be followed by three more election rallies in Dhoraji, Amreli and Botad.

A video - tweeted by news agency - showed PM Modi offering prayers at the iconic Somnath temple. He also greeted the community of priests. Visuals also showed him offering prayers at the shrine.

This comes a day after he held a gathering in Valsad on Saturday evening; and held a roadshow. Eight rallies - over a span of three days - have been scheduled as the BJP prepares for a return in the state where it has been ruling for more than two decades.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda are also in Gujarat, which votes in two phases, for campaigning. Polling will be held in Gujarat on December 1 and December 5; and votes will be counted on December 8. Counting of votes for Himachal Pradesh - another state BJP is optimistic about retaining - will also take place on December 8.