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Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi on Thursday left for New Delhi after finally bidding adieu to Gujarat saying, “Aavjo (goodbye) Gujarat.”
“When I am leaving for Delhi, as per our tradition, I would like to say aavjo to 6.25 crore people... Aavjo Gujarat,” Modi said at the airport before leaving for New Delhi.
Modi also met his mother Hiraba in Gandhinagar on Thursday and took her blessings before leaving for New Delhi for the swearing-in on May 26.
'Met my Mother before leaving for Delhi' Modi tweeted and posted a photo showing the mother-son duo sharing happy moments.
On his way to Ahmadabad airport, the PM-in-waiting tweeted he just learned how his personal staff prayed daily for his safety and well-being ever since he became chief minister of Gujarat in 2001.
"As I was leaving for Delhi I got to know something from my personal staff. It was a pleasant surprise that was extremely touching." In a subsequent tweet, the Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart said his staff had set up a small temple in his car. 'Driver & security staff set up a small Temple of Ramcharitmanas in my govt car where for over 12 years they prayed for my security daily'.
Modi gave credit for his success in public life to all such people. "Several security personnel prayed in this Temple daily for years! I don't know how many such people's good wishes have come to me."
He thanked his security staff for their gesture. "Security staff did a phenomenal job in their duty but the feeling with which they prayed for my well-being is something I wont ever forget." Modi also "saluted" his staff. He tweeted "I don't have any words to express my gratitude to them. I bow to them & salute them from the bottom of my heart."
The ex-chief minister will be sworn in as the prime minister on May 26, after he led his party to a resounding victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Modi also thanked media persons of Gujarat before the departure. “I would like to thank all the media persons, be it reporters of television channel, print media, editors, columnists, from the bottom of my heart for their cooperation in the last 13 years. I am hopeful that we will continue to work for development of Gujarat and India,” Modi said.
Modi completed all his tasks in Gujarat like resigning from the post of the chief minister and giving the state a new chief minister in form of Anandiben Patel before leaving for Delhi. Modi had been CM of Gujarat from October 7, 2001.
Image: Narendra Modi meets his mom Hiraben before heading to Delhi where he will be sworn in as prime minister on Monday. Photograph: @narendramodi/Twitter.