Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday morning visited the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh and offered prayers for the “good health, well-being, and prosperity” of all Indians. This comes as Modi is visiting Telangana ahead of the upcoming assembly election.

The prime minister shared several pictures from his visit on X (formerly Twitter), in which he can be seen donning a traditional South Indian attire. Before entering the sanctum sanctorum, Modi paid a tribute at the ‘Dwajasthambam’ which is believed to be a great source of energy. He also took the blessings of the temple priests after offering prayers.

“At the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, prayed for the good health, well-being, and prosperity of 140 crore Indians,” he wrote in a post on X. In another post, he shared some more glimpses from the temple visit saying, “Om Namo Venkatesaya!”

Modi arrived in Tirumala on Sunday night where he was showered with a grand welcome. Andhra Pradesh governor S Abdul Nazeer and chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy received the PM at the Reniginta airport. According to an official release by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Modi will proceed to Telangana where he will hold two public meetings – one at Mahbubabad at 12:45pm, and another one at Karimnagar at 2:45pm. He will also hold a roadshow in Hyderabad at 5pm.

On Sunday, Modi held a rally in Telangana’s Nirmal district and attacked the ruling Bharat Rasthra Samithi (BRS) government in the state saying that it is an “enemy of the poor”.

“We have a government in Telangana that stays in a farmhouse and does not give houses to the poor. KCR is an enemy of the poor and has held their houses. But I promise that as soon as the BJP government is formed in Telangana, these houses will be given to the poor immediately. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said while addressing the rally.

He added, “BJP cares for the poor of Telangana. But the BRS government puts a break on the development work for the poor in the state.”

Telangana is set to go to polls in a single phase on November 30. The counting of votes has been scheduled for December 3. The state is poised for a three-way contest between the ruling BRS, the Congress, and a resurgent BJP.

(With inputs from agencies)