Mandya, March 12 (IANS): Thousands of people and party workers thronged on either side of the road in Mandya and cheered Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is holding a roadshow on Sunday. PM Modi was showered with flowers by the crowd.

Modi arrived in poll-bound Karnataka to participate in various programmes. He landed in a special flight at the Mysuru airport.

The roadshow will be held between the 1.8 km stretch of Pravasi Mandir Circle to Nanda Circle. He will address a public rally at Gejjalagere Colony after inaugurating the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway.

Meanwhile, people and various groups staged a protest near Kanaminike toll plaza in Bengaluru South taluk opposing PM Modi's programme. The protesters raised slogans against PM Modi and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for inaugurating the expressway without the construction of a service road.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also inaugurate the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Karnataka. He will dedicate India's longest railway platform in Hubballi.

Ruling BJP government in the state has made elaborate arrangements for PM Modi's visit. The 10-lane expressway has been projected as one of the biggest contributions of the double engine government. All major political parties in the state are engaged in a war of words for claiming the credit.

The expressway was built at a cost of Rs 8,479. PM Modi will dedicate a 1.5 km long railway platform at the Siddharoodha Swami Railway Station to the nation. According to South Western Railways, it is also the world's longest platform.