File photo of PM Modi addressing a rally
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to join a "Run for Unity" as part of a series of events planned for Friday to mark the birth anniversary of his idol Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
The new government has grand plans to celebrate the day as "Rashtriya Ekta Diwas" or National Unity Day, as a tribute to India's first home minister. When the Congress-led UPA was in power, October 31 was largely marked by obituaries and encomiums to former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated by her security guards in 1984.
Officials say a large number of young people and schoolchildren will participate in the run to be organised across major cities, districts and towns.
PM Modi is expected to join the run in the heart of Delhi on Rajpath, a tree-lined avenue between India Gate and the presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhawan.
A pledge ceremony is also likely to take place in all government offices.
PM Modi has repeatedly been accused by the Congress of trying to appropriate the legacy of Sardar Patel, a lifelong Congressman.
Since he took charge in May, the 64-year-old prime minister has included other Congress icons in his campaigns.
The "Swachh Bharat" or Clean India mission was launched on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary. PM Modi said the campaign would be taken to schools in a big way on former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's birth anniversary on November 14.
Last year, Mr Modi had organised a similar array of events to mark the death anniversary of Sardar Patel in Gujarat, the state he ruled for 14 years till May, when he took over as prime minister. A "Run for Unity" marathon held at over 1,100 locations became a major mobilisation event for the BJP in the months before the national election.