NEW DELHI: Sending out a warning to all states about an "all-time high" threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the home ministry has put out new rules in which no one can come too close to PM Modi, not even ministers and officers if not cleared by his special security.

Sources say PM Modi, who is the main campaigner for the ruling BJP in the lead-up to a series of state elections and the 2019 national polls, has been advised to cut down on road shows.

The home ministry has written to all state police chiefs about an "unknown threat" to the PM.

No one is allowed to be in close quarters with the PM, which is the basic rule to be followed strictly, according to top sources.

Even ministers and officers are likely to be screened by the Special Protection Group (SPG), which is in charge of protecting the Prime Minister.

Public contact needs to be reduced further, believes the home ministry. PM Modi has been advised against road shows as planned routes present a bigger threat.

A ring of paramilitary and local police will add to the periphery security during the PM's visits.

Officials are concerned about the PM's upcoming tours in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and even Punjab.

Security agencies are believed to be specially monitoring areas believed to be strongholds of the Kerala-based Popular Front of India (PFI), an outfit that the government believes is a front for terror groups.

Agencies are also examining threats from Maoists, weeks after the Pune police said a plot to assassinate PM Modi in a "Rajiv Gandhi-type incident" during one of his roadshows had been revealed in a letter seized from a suspected Maoist.

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COMMENTSSources say the number of tactical team commandos travelling with the PM will be increased in number.

Advance Security Liaison, which is done almost 15 days before the PM visits an area, will be done more carefully, say sources.