Mumbai, January 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally at Solapur in south Maharashtra on January 9. He would also launch a few development projects of the state government on this occasion, a BJP source said. BJP president Amit Shah is slated to address a meeting of the party's booth-level workers at Latur in central Maharashtra Sunday.

The BJP source said that Modi and Shah's scheduled visits to the state indicate the party is getting into election mode as Lok Sabha polls are near. Earlier this week, Shah reportedly asked the party's Maharashtra MPs to be prepared to contest coming elections alone if an alliance with the Shiv Sena did not materialise. Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Opinion Poll: Narendra Modi Tops Survey As Popular PM Candidate, Rahul Gandhi Second on The List.

BJP is in alliance with the Sena in Maharashtra and at the Centre. The Sena has been critical of the BJP and its leaders have spoken of contesting the Lok Sabha elections alone.