Jammu And Kashmir Elections: In a bid to boost Bharatiya Janata Party’s poll campaign for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address an election rally in Srinagar on Thursday.

The rally will be held at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar, where a large number of supporters are expected to gather. Preparations were underway ahead of PM Modi’s rally. The saffron party’s Jammu and Kashmir unit has decorated all the routes leading to the venue with party flags.

We are happy that our beloved Prime Minister is coming to Srinagar tomorrow, we are anxious to beautify the roads leading to the venue, and we hope he will give us some good news tomorrow, an activist said. “The Prime Minister has transformed our Kashmir, we have development, peace, and prosperity here; now we welcome him wholeheartedly,” said another activist. 

Multi-layered arrangements have been put in place, and security has been beefed up in Srinagar, especially around the venue of PM Modi’s rally. The city has been declared a temporary red zone for the operation of drones and quadcopters ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit.

In a post on X, Srinagar Police said, “Srinagar city has been declared a “Temporary Red Zone” for the operation of drones and quadcopters as per provisions of Rule 24(2) of the Drone Rules, 2021, with immediate effect.” 

“All unauthorized drone operations in the Red Zone are liable to being penalized as per relevant provisions of Drone Rules, 2021. As responsible citizens, your cooperation is solicited in this regard,” Srinagar Police said in another post.

Speaking on the security arrangements, IGP Kashmir V K Birdhi said, “As many VVIPs are visiting here during the elections, we have put in place multi-layered security arrangements around the venue, and QRT and other teams are deployed on all roads leading to the venue.”

The BJP has fielded 20 candidates while also announcing support to ‘like-minded’ independent candidates, aiming to build a broad support coalition. Modi is going to campaign for the saffron party candidate Engineer Aijaz from Lal Chowk and other candidates contesting in Kashmir.

The BJP hopes that the event will prove to be a milestone and thousands of people will come to hear him.

Byte Tarun Chugh, BJP national general secretary and Jammu and Kashmir in-charge, said, “Everything is prepared here to welcome Prime Minister Modi. The people of Kashmir love Modi very much, and this will prove to be a milestone.”

The Prime Minister is expected to reach Srinagar around noon and will address a public meeting at Sher Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar’s Sonwar area. He will then fly to Katra and address another public meeting there.

Meanwhile, the first phase of polls in Jammu and Kashmir took place on Wednesday. In the first phase of voting, 24 seats across seven districts were covered. A turnout of about 59 percent—the highest in the past seven elections—was recorded in the first phase, Chief Electoral Officer P. K. Pole said, adding polling passed off peacefully.