Narendra Modi visits Vaishno Devi shrine ahead of rally in Jammu and Kashmir

Hiranagar, Kathua: Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate is on his way to offer prayers at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu, before he addresses a rally in Hiranagar town of the Kathua district, a few kilometres from Indo-Pak border.

This morning, Mr Modi tweeted a picture of him astride a white horse on his way to the cave shrine and said, "Jai Mata Di! On way to Vaishno Devi from Sanjichhat"

He is scheduled to reach Hiranagar by 11.30 am. The Jammu and Kashmir police has put in place heavy security in and around the Hockey Stadium where the rally is being held. "We will take all necessary precautions... all security arrangements are being put it place," Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jammu, Rajesh Kumar told reporters in Hiranagar.

"Nothing would be left to chance. The security measures have been planned as per threat perception and requirement of the area. Everything is being done," Mr Kumar added.

Hiranagar had been hit by a terror attack on September 26 last year in which a top army officer was among 11 army personnel, cops and civilans killed besides three militants.

Hira Nagar is a part of Udhampur parliamentary seat, in support of BJP candidate Jitender Singh, who will be taking on Congress heavy-weight and Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is contesting general elections for the first time.

This is the second rally being addressed by Mr Modi in the Jammu region. He had addressed a rally in December last year during which he had stirred a controversy by demanding a dialogue on Article 370 which guarantees a special status to the state.

The Hira Nagar rally will be the first of the 185 "Bharat Vijay Rallies" Mr Modi will address across the country.