PM Modi Punjab visit: Narendra Modi becomes fifth Indian PM to visit Patiala | Check past visits by notable leaders

PTC Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Punjab's Patiala district this evening, becoming the fifth Indian Prime Minister to do so. Earlier, former Prime Ministers Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had visited the Shahi City for various reasons during their tenures.

Three of these former Prime Ministers—Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi—were from the Indian National Congress and visited Patiala to inaugurate development projects. However, two BJP Prime Ministers—Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi—have come to address political and election rallies.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, visited Patiala during the 1950s and 1960s to inaugurate several projects when Patiala was the capital of PEPSU. Indira Gandhi, another Congress Prime Minister, visited in 1982 to lay the foundation stone of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal at Kapuri village. Rajiv Gandhi, also from the Congress, inaugurated the regional office of the North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC) at Sheesh Mahal in November 1985.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former BJP Prime Minister, visited Patiala in 2004 to address an election rally in support of Capt. Kanwaljit Singh, the joint candidate of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP alliance. The rally, held at Polo Ground, was part of Vajpayee's campaign against Congress candidate Preneet Kaur. Despite the support, Capt Kanwaljit Singh lost the election to Preneet Kaur.

Now, after 20 years, another BJP Prime Minister is visiting Patiala to address an election rally. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak at the same Polo Ground venue where Vajpayee once campaigned. Interestingly, this time, the party candidate is Preneet Kaur, who was the opposition candidate during Vajpayee's rally in 2004.