Modi flags off Vande Bharat train in Thiruvananthapuram

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today flagged off much-awaited Vande Bharat Express train in Thiruvananthapuram.

After PM Modi landed at the Thiruvananthapuram airport, his journey to the Central Railway Station was akin to a roadshow as thousands lined up on the roadsides, hours in advance, to greet him and showered him with flowers as his cavalcade passed them.

PM Modi is visiting the southern state amidst the BJP’s massive minority outreach programme which apparently has evoked a positive response from a section of priests of various Christian denominations.

The party leaders’ recent visit to Christian families and their breakfast meetings with some priests in the community are being viewed as part of their efforts to reach out to minorities ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.