Ahead Of Lok Sabha Elections, PM Modi To Attend ‘Bharat Shakti’ War Game In Pokhran | Details

ahead of lok sabha elections 2024, pm modi to attend ‘bharat shakti’ war game in pokhran | details

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend a mega military exercise in Pokhran in Rajasthan on March 12 ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, sources told Times Now. The Prime Minister will attend the war game ‘Bharat Shakti’, a testament to India’s push for self-reliance which will involve indigenously developed weapons platforms and systems.

PM Modi will likely be in attendance alongside the tri-services’ top brass in Pokhran. Tejas, K9 Vajra and several other indigenous weapons will participate in the war game on March 12. His visit to Pokhran comes ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections set to be held this year.

The Indian Army has been practising in Pokharan to strengthen operational readiness. Earlier the Indian Air Force had showcased its readiness in ‘Exercise Vayu Shakti’ in Pokharan held on February 17.

‘Bharat Shakti’ will showcase real-time war situations with the indigenous artillery guns K9 Vajra, Tejas fighters, multi-barrel rocket launchers, and several other ‘Made-in-India’ weapons and platforms.

Earlier last year, PM Modi flew a light combat fighter jet, Tejas, in Bengaluru during a state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) visit. The Prime Minister was on a visit to HAL to review its ongoing work at the manufacturing facility.

Tejas is a single-seater Light Combat Fighter aircraft designed primarily for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant for the Navy was being tested for ground maritime operations. The variant on which the Prime Minister took his sortie was a twin-seater one.

The Tejas aircraft is part of the Narendra Modi government’s efforts to increase India’s defence preparedness and indigenisation. The first version of the aircraft was inducted into the IAF in 2016. At present, two squadrons of the IAF – 45 Squadron and 18 Squadron – operate the LCA Tejas.