National motorcycle rally reaches Gujarat: 45 teams ride Gandhinagar to Ekta Nagar for the 31 October Ekta Parade

India's winter riding calendar usually begins with Motoverse and India Bike Week. This October it began with a column of police motorcycles crossing the country.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is running a nationwide motorcycle rally under the theme 'Fight Against Drugs', timed to end at Ekta Nagar in Narmada district, Gujarat, in time for the Ekta Parade on 31 October, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary. The riders are serving police and central force personnel, not club members, but the shape of it will be familiar to anyone who has done a long group ride: fixed routes, daily halts, school and college stops along the way, and one big meeting point at the end.

The Delhi flag-off, 21 October

Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off the rally from the National Police Memorial in New Delhi on 21 October, National Police Commemoration Day. About 90 police riders set off, drawn from Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, along with personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces and the Central Police Organisations. Commemoration week events ran at the memorial from 22 to 30 October, including police band performances, a run for martyrs and blood donation camps.

Several states sent their own contingents earlier. Uttar Pradesh DGP Rajeev Krishna flagged off five riders from the Lucknow police headquarters on 18 October, on a route that runs Lucknow to Agra to Delhi to Rajasthan to Gujarat, with the team stopping at schools and colleges to publicise the MANAS de-addiction helpline, 14446. Manipur's contingent was flagged off from Imphal by DGP Mukesh Singh on 6 October.

The Gujarat leg, 25 and 26 October

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel flagged off the Gujarat leg from the Secretariat complex in Gandhinagar on Sunday, 25 October. More than 550 personnel and officers are riding it, organised into 45 teams across four zones, with more than 275 motorcycles. Five riders each came from Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, with CAPF personnel making up the rest. Director General of Police Gyanendra Singh Malik led the arrangements. The route runs through Anand and Vadodara before reaching Ekta Nagar, with awareness and pledge events at halts along the way.

A day later, on 26 October, a separate National Unity Rally of 150 motorcycles was flagged off in Surat, with Surat SP Rajesh Gadiya present and NCC cadets, college students, industrial workers and village heads taking part.

What riders should take from it

For enthusiasts, the useful detail is logistical. Expect convoys, rolling blocks and traffic restrictions on the Ahmedabad to Vadodara to Kevadia corridor through 31 October, so plan a Statue of Unity weekend ride around it or go after the parade.

The festival season follows immediately. Royal Enfield's Motoverse runs 27 to 29 November at Vagator in Goa, and India Bike Week's 13th edition is on 4 and 5 December at Panchgani in Maharashtra, with five race events and prize money of ₹12 lakh listed by the organisers. If you are planning leave, the rally is the first marker on that calendar.

Sources

• Nationwide anti-drug bike rally heads to Statue of Unity to join parade on October 31, The Hans India, 25 October 2026
• Gujarat: National Unity Rally featuring 150 motorcycles flagged off in Surat under anti-drug campaign, Revoi, 26 October 2026
• Amit Shah flags off nationwide motorcycle rally on National Police Commemoration Day, The News Mill, 21 October 2026
• Amit Shah to pay homage to martyrs on Police Commemoration Day, flag off nationwide motorcycle rally against drugs, Punjab Kesari English, 21 October 2026
• UP DGP Rajeev Krishna flags off anti-drug motorcycle rally, Indian Masterminds, 18 October 2026
• National motorcycle rally flagged off from Imphal, UNI India, 6 October 2026
• Royal Enfield Motoverse 2026, official event page
• India Bike Week '26, official site