Amaravati: As PM Modi arrived ay Gannavaram airport in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, Governor ESL Narasimham and senior BJP leaders were there to receive him. Modi later left for Guntur on a helicopter where he will be launching projects and addressing a rally.

Meanwhile, there were protests staged by leaders of parties such as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Congress and the Left, which were witnessed in thirteen districts of the state. They demanded Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh.  The three parties that abstained from the protests were BJP, YSR Congress and Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that with Modi not having fulfilled the promise of according Special Category Status to the state, he has no right to visit the place. Other commitments made by Modi during the state's bifurcation in 2014 were also not delivered, Naidu added.

After TDP's divorce with BJP-led NDA last year, this is Modi's first visit to Andhra Pradesh.