Voters in India are wise and their ID is more powerful than the IED’s of terrorists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday after voting in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister held a mini-roadshow in an open jeep as he walked down the streets with the BJP’s president and candidate Amit Shah as he was greeted by people on the road he walked.

“Today, the third phase of polling is underway. I am fortunate that I got the opportunity to fulfil my duty in my home state of Gujarat. Like one feels pure after a holy dip during the Kumbh, I feel pure after casting vote in this festival of democracy,” the Prime Minister said while speaking to reporters.

He spoke after casting his vote in the polling booth in Nishan Higher Secondary School in Ranip under Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency.

“The weapon of terrorism is IED, the strength of democracy is voter’s ID. I can say with surety that the voter’s ID is much much more powerful than an IED, so we should understand the strength of our voter IDs,” Modi said.

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Amid chants of “Modi, Modi”, the Prime Minister came out after casting his ballot, showed his inked finger and acknowledged the people gathered outside the booth. He also walked a little distance as people continued to chant his name.

Modi was among the first high-profile voters to exercise their franchise in Gujarat. The Prime Minister arrived at the polling booth in an open jeep as he greeted people gathered on the road.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s president Amit Shah, who is up against the Congress’ three-term legislator CJ Chavda in the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, received Modi. Before entering the booth, Modi spent some time with Shah’s family and lifted the BJP chief’s granddaughter in his arms.

Before entering the booth, Modi spent some time with Shah’s family and lifted the BJP chief’s granddaughter in his arms. He cast his vote at Ahmedabad’s Nishan High School around 8.20am.

Before casting his vote, Modi visited his mother in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar and sought her blessings. Photographs tweeted by news agency ANI showed the Prime Minister touching nearly 99-year-old Heeraben Patel’s feet as she blesses him. She gave her blessings by putting a tilak on his forehead and gifting a coconut and a red scarf.

Modi spent 15 minutes with his mother and stopped briefly outside his brother Pankaj Modi’s house as he was greeted by the neighbours. He then walked down to reporters who had gathered there and said, “Thank you very much’’.

Later in the day, veteran BJP leader and sitting MP from Gandhinagar LK Advani, Union minister Arun Jaitley, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka governors Anandiben Patel and Vaju Vala, respectively, will vote in Gujarat.

Meanwhile, voting was delayed by 15 minutes at Mora-II booth in Navsari LS segment due to a reported technical glitch in the electronic voting machine (EVM).

All the 26 parliamentary constituencies in Prime Minister Modi’s home state of Gujarat is polling in the third phase of ongoing general elections and the contest is primarily between the ruling BJP and Congress. The BJP won all 26 seats in 2014.

The third phase of the Lok Sabha elections will see as many as 117 seats across 15 states and two Union territories going to vote on April 23. Among the seats will be a solitary seat from Tripura, Tripura East, where elections were delayed by one phase due to security reasons.

The votes will be counted on May 23.

.WATCH| Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Big fights to watch out for in Phase 3 of voting

Chants of “Modi, Modi” were heard as he came out after casting his ballot and acknowledged the people gathered outside the booth. He also walked a little distance as people continued to chant his name.

Earlier, Modi met his mother at her house in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar. Photographs tweeted by news agency ANI showed the Prime Minister touching nearly 99-year-old Heeraben Patel’s feet as she blesses him. Modi also met people outside his mother’s house in Gandhinagar before getting in the house.

All the 26 parliamentary constituencies in Prime Minister Modi’s home state of Gujarat is polling in the third phase of ongoing general elections and the contest is primarily between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress. The BJP won all 26 seats in 2014.

The third phase of the Lok Sabha elections will see as many as 117 seats across 15 states and two Union territories going to vote on April 23. Among the seats will be a solitary seat from Tripura, Tripura East, where elections were delayed by one phase due to security reasons.

The votes will be counted on May 23.

First Published: Apr 23, 2019 08:38 IST