Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s day-long visit to Gujarat on Friday enabled him to kill two birds with one stone, in the backdrop of assembly elections in six states, coming up later this year, and Lok Sabha elections scheduled for 2024.
His views on education, teachers, being a lifetime student, and the New Education Policy at a convention of primary teachers from all over the country held in Gandhinagar are expected to help the party and Modi in mouth-to-mouth publicity when the teachers go back to their states. This is important as government teachers are considered close to families when it comes to leaving impressions.
Modi’s visit to Gujarat after a gap of two months helped infuse new enthusiasm in the party’s rank and file as it prepares to repeat the performance of 2014 and 2019 in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had captured all 26 seats and this time around, state BJP president C.R. Paatil has set a target of retaining all the seats, each with a margin of 5 lakh votes.
Modi had last visited his home state in the first half of March, when he watched India-Australia cricket match with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad.
Party insiders say that the Prime Minister is expected to visit Gujarat at regular intervals now that the Karnataka assembly election is over and the elections to six other states are only a couple of months away.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Paatil were with the Prime Minister in his two engagements for the day, and that helped the latter get a quick update on what has been going on in the state and give suggestions for the state where he was the chief minister for 12 years.
While mentioning that the role of teachers will be very important in making India a developed nation, Modi said his experiences with the teachers in Gujarat have helped in the framing of the New Education Policy. He described the approach of the policy as practical.
Earlier, at a programme held at Mahatma Gandhi Mandir, Modi lauded the progress being achieved by the Patel-led Government in Gujarat and said the double engine worked at double speed.
The programme saw the PM inaugurating and laying the foundation of developmental works to the tune of Rs 2,452 crore. A few beneficiaries were also given keys of their homes built under the PM Aawas Yojna. Over 42,400 houses have been constructed at a cost of Rs 1,946 crore.
At the event, the Prime Minister also took a dig at the previous government and commented on the pace they functioned.