File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Agence France-Presse)
Fans of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been given a boost, with plans to expand bus tours of the town where the future premier grew up and worked at his father's tea stall.
The weekly tour has become so popular since starting early this year that daily excursions are being planned to the tiny town of Vadnagar where Mr Modi was born, said the travel agency running them.
"We have been taking about 56 tourists every week since February. Now with the increase in demand we plan to make it a daily tour of about 45 passengers," said Manish Sharma from Akshar Travels. The Gujarat government's tourist department has partnered with him for the tour.
Mr Sharma said the tour, which costs Rs 600 per person and included lunch, starts from Ahmedabad before travelling the 75 miles to Vadnagar.
The tour includes a visit to the town's railway station where Mr Modi as a child famously helped his father sell tea, along with the house where he was born. "It was emotional moment for us to see place from where Narendra Modi grew up as a tea seller," said Anand Mehta, a resident of Ahmedabad.
Apart from visiting Mr Modi's former schools, the 12-hour tour includes a visit to Sharmistha Lake "where Modi's childhood began with an adventure of catching a baby crocodile", according to an itinerary on Gujarat tourism's website.
Some tourists aren't entirely convinced of that particular claim. "I don't know the veracity of these claims ,but I hope those who go won't be disappointed and they see at least some crocodiles there," said Deepak Thakkar before embarking on the tour.
Visitors can also chat to some of the leader's former school friends and others who knew him and his family.
"We are also beginning a marketing campaign for this package in the US, Europe, China and Middle Eastern countries for the next tourist season (starting) in December," Mr Sharma said.