Voter ID more powerful than IED, says PM Modi after voting in Ahmedabad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his vote in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Tuesday during the third phase of the Lok Sabha election, and told reporters afterwards that a voter ID card was far more powerful than an IED.

What Modi said

Comparing the two, Modi said the IED was the weapon of terrorism while the voter ID was the strength of democracy, and that people should understand the power their voter cards carried.

He also said voting left a person feeling pure, likening it to the feeling after taking a holy dip at the Kumbh, and described the election as a festival of democracy.

At the polling booth

Modi arrived in the morning in an open jeep at the polling station set up in Nishan High School in the Ranip area of Ahmedabad. BJP president Amit Shah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar, received him outside the school and walked with him to the booth.

On his way in, the Prime Minister waved to the large crowds gathered on both sides of the road. After voting, he walked a short distance from the booth and spoke briefly to the media, repeating his message to voters.

What happened next

Voting in the 2019 general election ran until 19 May. When the count was held on 23 May 2019, the BJP won 303 of 543 seats, and Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Bharatiya Janata Party, election news

Originally published on 23 April 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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