In what could probably be his last visit to his home state Gujarat before the Election Commission of India (ECI) announces dates for the assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sent out a loud and clear message to the electorate to vote for a government which is common in the state and the Centre.
The ECI is likely to announce the dates for Gujarat polls in less than a week's time.
Modi inaugurated a series of projects and laid foundation stones of some new projects. The total cost of the projects run into crores of rupees. In Vadodara alone, he inaugurated or launched projects worth Rs 1,140 crore. Earlier, in the morning, Modi inaugurated a ferry service between Gogha in Bhavnagar and Dahej in South Gujarat. The ferry service cuts down a road distance of nearly 300 kilometers to just 31 kilometers by water way.
Gujarat, which was considered as Hindutva model state after the 2002 riots, was promoted as a model state of development during the tenure of Modi as the chief minister.
Modi said that the Centre would be keen to help any government which is pro-development. “However, if any anti-development government comes to power, the Centre would not allow its (Centre's) single rupee to be spent. The money is for people's development,” he said.
Modi's statement was not only a warning of sorts to the electorate but also a jibe at the opposition, the Congress party. He has time and again accused the Congress of ignoring Gujarat's interests and more recently he took on the previous UPA governments for allegedly delaying the Sardar Sarovar Project by not giving necessary permissions. The project, he said, got a push only when there were common governments both at the Centre and the state.
Modi's latest announcements came at a time when the state has been witnessing major political developments. On Saturday, OBC Ekta Manch leader Alpesh Thakore announced that he would join the Congress at a rally on October 23. After Thakore's announcement, the Congress party have invited Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, JD (U), AAP and NCP to join hands against the BJP. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is expected to join the mega rally on Monday.
At the sprawling Navlakhi Ground in Vadodara, a few kilometers away from Shatri Pol, where he spent his formative years as an RSS karyakarta, Modi made it clear to the masses that Gujarat should not lose any opportunity to get the benefit from the Centre. “We have a backlog pending for 70 years,” he said, adding that the way Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel are putting up projects, would not be possible without Centre's support.
Without naming the Congress party, Modi said that some people have a problem with him visiting Vadodara. “They cannot tell me directly so they are blaming the Election Commission,” he said. Congress had alleged that the poll panel delayed the announcement of elections due to pressure from the BJP.
Rupani, in his speech, took a dig at the Congress and said though the opposition alleges that these are pre-election announcements, these developmental works were not possible overnight.
Vadodara district is a BJP stronghold and the party holds nine out of 10 seats there. However, the recent successful campaigns of Rahul Gandhi in the district are believed to have prompted the BJP to give coverage to the area.
Modi also took part in a 14-kilometer road show before leaving for New Delhi from Vadodara airport.
Prime minister is expected to have discussed the changing political equations with his party leaders in the state.
BJP national party president Amit Shah is already in Ahmedabad and Gujarat BJP's parliamentary board meeting is to continue till October 26 to select a panel of candidates for the assembly polls. The list will then be sent to the Central Parliamentary Committee.
