With the high-voltage Assembly election campaign in Uttar Pradesh ending on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed for home State Gujarat on Tuesday for a two-day visit.
This will be the PM’s seventh visit to Gujarat — which goes to Assembly polls later this year — since September 2016, when he promised his party and people that he would be more “available” to them. The visits are viewed as part of the BJP’s efforts to retain its hold on the State ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Damage controlEver since Modi left for New Delhi in May 2014, the BJP has seen an erosion of its socio-political-economic base in Gujarat. Various agitations have rocked the ruling party, which has seen two BJP chief ministers since Modi.
On Tuesday afternoon, the PM will arrive in Bharuch to inaugurate an industrial plant and a meet at Dahej under the auspices of ONGC Petro-additions Ltd (OPaL). He will also dedicate to the people a new bridge on the Narmada and address a public meeting.
On Wednesday, he will seek the blessings of Lord Somnath in the electorally-important Saurashtra region.
He will then address around 6,000 women sarpanches from across India on the occasion of International Women’s Day, in Gandhinagar.