Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew 1.5 lakh km and addressed 142 public rallies during the most extensive campaign for a Lok Sabha election since Independence, BJP president Amit Shah said Friday. Addressing a press conference here with the PM by his side, Shah praised Modi for braving scorching temperatures which went up to 46 degrees Celsius.

"Since Independence, the most hardworking, extensive election campaign was this one and Modi's outreach was unprecedented," Shah said. There is hardly any part of the country Modi did not visit during the election campaign between February and May, he said. The dates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections were announced on March 10.

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"On 28 March 2019, the campaign started from Meerut. PM Modi addressed 142 public rallies, held four roadshows and, according to conservative estimates, he directly addressed about 1.5 crore people in these rallies. Modi's campaign involved air travel of around 1.5 lakh km," he said. Shah also said, that he himself visited 312 Lok Sabha constituencies and addressed 161 public rallies. He claimed he travelled 1.58 lakh km and held 18 roadshows.

Shah said the BJP ran a very successful campaign reaching all sections of society He expressed confidence that his party will come back to power with a majority. He said slogans like 'fir ek baar Modi sarkar' and 'main bhi chowkidar' were not given by the BJP leadership but by the "common BJP volunteers". Modi said that this was a great election campaign. "The BJP-led NDA is heading towards a clear majority...I have not missed or cancelled a single rally," said Modi.

Narendra Modi got 722 hours of TV airtime in April, Rahul Gandhi only 252 hours