Atal Bihari Vajpayee will become the first prime minister to address a public rally in Srinagar after the advent of militancy in 1989, when he delivers a speech at the Sher-e-Kashmir grounds on Friday.

All security arrangements are in place for the rally, which will be the centrepiece of Vajpayee's two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

At the rally, Vajpayee will share the dais with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. This is likely to cause much heart-burn in the National Conference camp, which is an ally of the prime minister's Bharatiya Janata Party.

The prime minister is also scheduled to address a rally at Qazigund, where he would review the prestigious National Highway Development project.

Vajpayee's public meetings come 15 years after the then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, addressed a public meeting in the Valley in 1987.

The prime minister would not visit Jammu this time, although he had a night halt there during his last visit.