NEW DELHI: Far from the crushing defeat in Delhi polls sobering him, come Sunday and an idol of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be installed in a Gujarat temple to be worshipped by fans and followers, NDTV said on Wednesday.

“A temple dedicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to officially open in his home state of Gujarat on Sunday,” the news channel said.

The move puts paid to any speculation that Tuesday’s rout at the hands of the Aaam Aadmi Party, which won 67 of the assembly’s 70 seats would have humbled him.

The temple, funded by 300 admirers is located in a village in his home state under the watch of his hand-picked chief minister 130 miles from Ahmedabad.

“He is like a god for us and we have been worshipping him for a decade. We want a temple for him in all villages in Gujarat,” said Ramesh Undhad, who has headed the project to collect funds and construct the temple, which includes an idol of the 64-year-old prime minister, according to NDTV.

The temple took a year and 700,000 rupees to build. The statue cost around Rs200,000, said Mr Unhad, a former local councillor.

Mr Modi swept the national election last year.

The Om Trust that governs the temple says it expects large crowds when the temple opens to the public on Sunday. “Narendra Modi is an icon for our youth...he is just like a god for the younger generation and that’s why we have built this temple,’’ NDTV quoted trustee Jayesh Patel as saying.

Published in Dawn February 12th , 2015

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