Ruling BJP seems to be running extra mile on developmental works and ‘Modi-branding’ in Madhya Pradesh with Prime Minister Narendra Modi slated to visit the poll-bound state twice more during the upcoming week.
During the two visits, PM Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of developmental works worth Rs 31,000 crore at events planned in Gwalior on October 2 and Jabalpur on October 5.
This will take the total visits of the PM to MP in the past six months to nine. Modi visited MP twice in the month of September too. He visited the state once each in April, June, July and August. During these visits, it was clear that the BJP plans to contest the upcoming assembly polls with ‘brand Modi’ on the forefront.
However, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is already on a whirlwind tour of the state for the past several months, will also be visiting 10 districts during the coming week to inaugurate or lay foundation stones of developmental works worth another 40,000 crore.
Given these jam-packed plans of events, political watchers are feeling that the assembly poll dates might be announced before October 10 and the BJP government wants to finish off the developmental works related events before the model code of conduct is in place.
What is lending credence to the deadline of October 10 is that Chouhan has decided to deposit the monthly Ladli Behna cash assistance installment in the banks of the beneficiaries on October 4 at Jaora in Ratlam. Till now, the installments were deposited through events held on 10th of the particular month.
BJP state president Vishnudutt Sharma said on Sunday that PM Modi will be in Gwalior on October 2 to dedicate or lay foundation stones of developmental works worth Rs 19,000 crores. These include six projects of national highways, PM housing scheme for both rural and urban people and critical care units in nine cities of the state –Vidisha, Betul, Katni, Burhanpur, Narsinghpur, Damoh, Agar-Malwa, Shahjahanpur and Gwalior, among other projects.
On October 5 in Jabalpur, the PM will conduct foundation stone laying ceremony for Veerangana Rani Durgavati Memorial and foundation stone-laying and inauguration of works under Jal Jeevan (drinking water) mission and other infrastructure.
Sharma also said that CM Chouhan will visit Ashoknagar, Sehore, Raisen, Gwalior, Dindori, Ratlam, Balaghat, Shahdol, Satna and Jabalpur for the developmental works worth Rs 40,000 crore.
On October 3, the CM will inaugurate the trial run of the priority corridor of Bhopal Metro, lay the foundation stone for a state media centre in Bhopal and also participate in a convention of women’s self-help groups in the capital. During this programme, 1,400 scooterettes will be distributed to the women SHGs. On October 6, he will transfer the subsidy amount for domestic gas cylinders to the Ladli Behna beneficiaries at another programme in Bhopal.
