On his fourth visit to Kedarnath, PM Modi offers prayers at temple shrine

New Delhi, May 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand, on Saturday. This is PM Modi's fourth visit to the holy shrine.

His visit to Kedarnath shrine comes a day before 59 parliamentary constituencies, including Varanasi, goes to the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 19.

He will also go to the Badrinath shrine on Sunday during his two-day visit of the state. In Badrinath, he is scheduled to review a beautification project for the shrine area.

With campaigning for the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha polls ended on Thursday, the Election Commission (EC) is learnt to have given its nod to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines while "reminding" the prime minister's office (PMO) that the model code of conduct is still in force.

Security has been tightened around both the shrines in view of the Prime Minister's visit, said Ashok Kumar, Director General (Law and Order).

The Himalayan shrine, dedicated to Shiva, has been visited multiple times by PM Modi during his current term.

In November last year, Prime Minister Modi had visited the Kedarnath shrine during Diwali.

In 2017, he paid visits to the temple twice, once in May after its gate had opened following a six-month winter break and again in October, before the temple again closed for winters.

This year, the portals of the Kedarnath temple in the Garhwal Himalayan range of Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district were thrown open to pilgrims on May 9 after a six-month-long winter break.