Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora on Monday recalled his first meeting with Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat CM. He said that he was surprised by the personal connect and ground knowledge Modi had.
Deora said that his first meeting happened at the funeral of late Pramod Mahajan, where PM Modi, seated in front of Deora on the stage, welcomed him.
He recalled his first encounter with PM Modi, then Gujarat Chief Minister, during the funeral of Pramod Mahajan. He was surprised by Modi's personal connection and deep understanding of ground realities.
"Narendra Modi ji was seated just in front of me, and I greeted him. He turned back and asked, 'Milind bhai, how are you?' I was surprised because I was very new to politics and was just 27 years old, very few recognised me. He has his ear to the ground and knows everyone," Deora said in a video shared by PTI.
In the video, Deora mentioned that PM Modi consistently transcends party politics and shows respect to people regardless of their party affiliations.
Deora further mentioned about PM Modi's non-partisan approach during the 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston. He recalled that Modi had acknowledged the contributions of late Murli Deora (father of Milind Deora) in strengthening the relations between India and US.
He said that PM Modi's tweet saying, 'My friend Murli Deora would be really happy today,' made a special place in the heart of Deora's family and party workers.
Milind Deora, a former Member of Parliament, represented the Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency twice, first in 2004 and then in 2009. He recently joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena after leaving the Congress party. Deora was appointed as a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra.