Massive crowd gathers at PM's rally as Delhi sizzles at 43.4 degree Celsius

Donning saffron clothes, a massive crowd from across Delhi and neighbouring areas braved the summer heat to gather at the BJP's poll rally site in Dwarka here on Wednesday well in advance to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ankush Kumar, a resident of Gurgaon in Haryana where polling would be held in the sixth phase on May 25 along with Delhi, said that he reached the rally site, close to Sector 14 Dwarka Metro Station, around 2 pm.

"I came here just to see the prime minister," he said.

The national capital on Wednesday recorded a maximum temperature of 43.4 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average, and remained in the 'Yellow' alert zone.

Chants of "Modi, Modi" and "Jai Shree Ram" rent the air while many, including women, danced to drum beats as the prime minister reached the stage around 6.15 pm. They waved their mobiles with flashlights on while chanting "Modi ji ko Jai Shree Ram" and "Abki baar 400 paar" to greet Modi.

"Not only from Delhi, people have arrived from different parts of the country the listen to PM Modi's speech," said Krishna Devi, who reached the rally site from Shahdara.

Another person at the rally, Karan Singh, said, "We want a 'Majboot (strong) sarkar', not a 'majboor (helples) sarkar'. We are witnessing development across the country, look at the expressways. A huge gathering like this is always expected at the PM's address irrespective of the weather." Karuna Singh, a Delhi resident, mentioned the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the 2016 surgical strike and the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 to say, "We are lucky to have witnessed such moments." Many folk artistes from Punjab and Haryana performed at the rally. A boy was seen holding a sketch of PM Modi while his mother and a group of women were seen in saffron sarees and 'pagdi' with the BJP's poll symbol lotus attached to the headgear.

"People must remember free LPG connections under Ujjwala Yojana and houses for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana while voting. I feel that he is not well, still he is always there for the people of his country," said Ram Maheshwari, a resident of Dwarka.

"Our vote is for nationalism, Ram Temple, and for the unity of the nation," he said.