Maharashtra / CM Devendra Fadnavis visits Kedarnath before Maharashtra poll result

Taking a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s book, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, ahead of state assembly results, offered prayers at the famous Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on Wednesday.

In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, just days before the Lok Sabha results, offered prayers at the Kedarnath shrine.

Rudraprayag District Magistrate Mangesh Ghildiyal said it was Fadnavis’ personal visit to the temple.

Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee sources said the Maharashtra chief minister, along with his wife Amrita, performed puja at the Lord Shiva shrine and spent about an hour in its premises talking to priests.

Fadnavis is seeking a second term in office in Maharashtra where assembly elections were held on Monday, and counting of votes is currently underway.

Five exit polls have predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would return to power in both Haryana and Maharashtra, with some predicting an outright sweep.

The exit polls also suggest that the numbers for the BJP are set to increase in both states, similar to its performance in the Lok Sabha elections, in which it managed to increase its majority in Parliament.

Maharashtra saw a voter turnout of 61.13%.

The BJP contested the elections in alliance with the Shiv Sena and other smaller parties.