Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that in a democracy, voter ID was more powerful than the terrorist’s IED (improvised explosive device).
He exhorted the people to exercise their franchise and participate in the democratic process.
He made the remark after voting in Ahmedabad on Tuesday when 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat went to the polls.
He compared voting to taking a holy dip in the Kumbh.
“It gives us a sense of purity. India’s voters are clear who they want to vote for,” he said.
Meets his mother
Before going to the polling booth in the Ranip area of the city, the Prime Minister visited his mother, Hiraba, at his brother’s residence in Koba. His mother blessed him and offered him kansar , a Gujarati delicacy.
As Mr. Modi stepped out of his vehicle at the polling booth, the crowd burst into loud cheers and he greeted them with folded hands.
BJP president Amit Shah, who arrived with his family, was waiting to receive him when he emerged from the booth after voting. The Prime Minister was seen playing with Mr. Shah’s granddaughter.
Mr. Shah is contesting the election from Gandhinagar constituency, replacing party patriarch L.K. Advani, 92.
Earlier, the Prime Minister took to the social media to exhort people to vote.
In a post on Twitter, he asked the people to come out in “record numbers” and vote in the third phase of the Lok Sabha election.
Gujarat is the home State of both the Prime Minister and Mr. Shah.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won all the 26 seats in the State.
