Haryana is the land of the brave, Modi said.
As Narendra Modi walked up to the stage at a rally in Rewari, Haryana, the roar of a lion was played on the public announcement system amid loud cheer and applause from an almost 1.5 lakh-strong audience.
This is the first public outing of the Gujarat chief minister since he was named by the BJP as its candidate for prime minister in 2014.
The crowd he addressed today at Secretariat Grounds comprises mainly of ex-servicemen. Rewari, about 90 km from national capital New Delhi, is home to thousands of serving and retired soldiers.
A huge photograph of the Indian parliament forms the backdrop of the stage which Mr Modi shared with former Army chief, General (retd) VK Singh, who was recently involved in Gandhian Anna Hazare's anti-corruption crusade. He has also been leading a campaign for better benefits for ex-servicemen.
After he was announced his party's prime ministerial candidate on Friday evening, Mr Modi had said he would take on the ruling Congress on corruption, inflation and lack of governance and development in the country.
It will also be watched for any promises he might make on issues concerning ex-servicemen and could attack the United Progressive Alliance or UPA government for its handling of security issues such as incursions by China, repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan and instances of attack on Indian soldiers.
The rally has already generated some controversy locally, with unidentified people blackening Modi poster. Congress-ruled Haryana's Power Minister Ajay Singh Yadav said, "Modi should have chosen a state that lags behind Gujarat. Haryana is ahead of Gujarat in key fields, including social welfare schemes, especially for defence personnel and ex-servicemen."
The BJP accused the Congress government of trying to create hurdles. "When our preparations were in full swing, the power supply to the rally venue was disrupted for several hours," a BJP leader said.