Union Home Minister Amit Shah with his wife Sonal Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took part in Kakad Aarti or Mangal Aarti at the historic Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad at the early hours of Thursday.
Shah is on a two-day visit to Gujarat. This is his first visit to the state as a Union Home Minister.
Lord Jagannath's Kakad Aarti takes place at 4 am. Amit Shah was present there well before time.
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani flagged-off Jagannath Yatra in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning.
A number of high-profile Jagannath yatras are due today. The famed yatra in Puri, Odisha is expected to begin between 9 to 10 am today.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will flag off Jagannath yatra in West Bengal this afternoon. Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan will be present at the ceremony.
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The 142nd Jagannath Yatra in Gujarat coincides with the Puri's Rath Yatra.
Amid tight security, the annual chariot festival begins, which will pass through after commencing from the Lord Jagannath Temple in Jamalpur locality.
Lakhs of devotees flocked the 18-km route to catch a glimpse of the deity.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani performed 'pahind vidhi' - a symbolic ritual of cleaning the way for the chariots using a golden broom before the procession begins.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted people on the occasion.
"Best wishes to everyone on the special occasion of the Rath Yatra. We pray to Lord Jagannath and seek his blessings for the good health, happiness and prosperity of everyone. Jai Jagannath," he said in a tweet.
The chariots of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra, then embarked on the yatra from the 400- year-old Jagannath temple located in Jamalpur area.
Besides the three chariots, the rath yatra procession comprised 19 decorated elephants, 100 trucks with tableaux and members of 30 singing troupes.
The rath yatra is taken out every year on Ashadhi Beej, the second day of Ashadh month, as per the Hindu calender.
The procession will return to the temple around 8.30 pm after passing through the Old City, including some communally sensitive areas like Jamalpur, Kalupur, Shahpur and Dariyapur.
A multi-layered security cordon involving 25,000 personnel from different police units and para-military forces has been put in place. CCTVs and drone cameras are being used to keep a watch on the procession.
