BJP’s Big Infra Push in Maharashtra: Why Has PM Modi Made Frequent Trips to the State Since August 2023?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally monitoring the political situation in Maharashtra, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, with frequent visits to the state since last August.

Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha constituencies and, with the prime minister’s target set at 400 seats this time, he has planned all his tours to the state. Unconfirmed reports indicate that he could file his second nomination from here for the polls. But, one thing is clear that the frequent visits show how important Maharashtra is in the scheme of things.

On August 1 last year, Prime Minister Modi was felicitated by ‘Tilak Puraskar’ in Pune. Then, on October 14, 2023, he visited Mumbai for a meeting of the Olympics committee. In that same month, on the 26th, he visited Shirdi to seek the blessings of Sai Baba and, on the same day, was at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Nilwande dam in the vicinity.

On December 4, 2023, the PM was invited to the Naval Day celebrations in Sindhudurg district, while on January 12 this year he visited the Kalaram temple in Nashik. On the same day, he inaugurated the Atal Setu – the key connector between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai – and also flagged off the Navi Mumbai Metro.

On January 19, PM Modi visited Solapur district to hand over the keys of homes built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

Now this week, on February 19, he was to come to Pune and Mumbai for the inauguration of various projects but the prime minister’s office has rescheduled these functions. He is likely to visit the state in the last week of this month, when he will be inaugurating the new terminal building of the Pune airport and first phase of the Mumbai coastal road. He will also be attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project.

While the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the BJP are ruling in Maharashtra, according to sources, the saffron party has not been able to penetrate the rural belts as planned. Hence, the state is crucial and the BJP hopes, with the inauguration of these infrastructure projects, it will be able to push its development agenda among voters.