‘Project’ outreach in poll season

WOOING VOTERS Before the Lok Sabha schedule announcement, PM Narendra Modi launched more than 150 projects. In the past, the Congress-led UPA govt pushed key legislations like the Food Security Billl in run up to 2014 national polls

NEW DELHI: Political leaders are always on the move during the election season. They need to reach out to as many voters as possible, make hundreds of speeches and outmanoeuvre their opponents in wooing voters.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership did not wait for the Election Commission’s announcement of poll dates on Sunday for the voter outreach. It began announcing schemes and laying the foundation stones for projects soon after the budget session — Parliament’s last – before the 2019 national elections ended. They rushed to have the pending work finished before going to the people to seek their support for another term.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a whirlwind tour across the country to launch over 150 projects across sectors such as railways, transport, health, power, etc as the budget session ended and the summer election got closer. He has over the last five years travelled throughout India to reach out to the people even as his critics and opponents criticised him for being is perpetually in the poll mode.

BJP insiders said the party’s loss in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assembly elections to the Congress in December underlined the challenges it faced before the national polls.

Job losses have hurt the BJP’S 2014 promise to cater to an aspirational India, the agrarian crisis has led to sharp drop in farmer’s income while the Opposition has continuously attacked it over alleged wrongdoings in the Rafale aircraft deal.

Modi, the face of the BJP’S campaign for the 2019 polls, wasted little time in undertaking a course correction. He announced a slew of policy measures and projects in a matter of a few weeks. Modi and ministers like Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal went on an overdrive to roll out projects and lay foundation stones for new projects.

The BJP government’s overdrive in inaugurating schemes is not unprecedented. Earlier governments, too, have tried to reach out to the voters through new schemes and projects ahead of elections.

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), too, went on an overdrive in pushing key legislations like the Food Security Bill in the run-up to the 2014 national polls.

The UPA government also named the Lucknow airport after late former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh to woo ally Rashtriya Lok Dal ahead of the 2012 Uttar Pradesh polls.

Congress spokesman Muhammad Khan slammed the BJP’S frantic outreach. “Having squandered the mandate of the people in 2014, the BJP and especially Prime Minister Modi tried to do the five years’ work in 10 days. According to our estimate, the BJP launched more than 170 projects during this period,’’ he said. He called it nothing but sheer desperation. “But people are supreme and they are intelligent too. They are seeing through these tricks and will give a befitting reply to the BJP in the coming polls.”

Lower Panazara medium Project under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana that will irrigate about 7,585 hectares in Dhule, Maharashtra. By: Narendra Modi. Ministries: Agriculture; Water Resources; Rural Development Phulpur to Patna stretch of the Natural Gas pipeline; Patna City Gas Distribution project. By Modi. Ministry: Petroleum “There is no dearth of funds for the Namami Gange projects aimed at cleaning Ganga and maintaining its uninterrupted flow.” Nitin Gadkari,

Union minister Foundation stone laid for the expansion of terminal building, from existing 34587 sq m to 45930 sq m at Mangaluru airport. By: Prabhu. Ministry: Civil Aviation Foundation stone for development of terminal building of 3250 sqm at Rupsi airport, Assam. By: Prabhu. Ministry: Civil Aviation Unveiled ongoing Sulwade Jamphal Kanoli Lift Irrigation Scheme in Mah. By: Modi. Ministry: Water Resources Four Rural Water Supply Schemes in Ramgarh and Hazaribagh districts, Jharkhand. By Modi. Ministry: Drinking Water & Sanitation Foundation stone for 6 Rural Water Supply Schemes in 2 districts and locality of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. By Modi. Ministries: Drinking Water, Tribal Affairs

FEB.

Foundation stones for 510 km length of National Highway works amounting to Rs 5094cr in Moradabad, Meerut and Baghpat in western UP. By: Nitin Gadkari. Ministry: Road Transport and Highways

Foundation stones for 331 km of National Highway and Sewage Treatment Plants of 89.5 MLD under Namami Gange, Rs 8530cr (est) at Muzaffarnagar and Bulandshahar. By: Gadkari. Ministries: Water Resources, Road Transport (PBBS) and Advanced Visual Docking Guidance System at Mangaluru airport, Karnataka. By: Prabhu. Ministry: Civil Aviation

International arrival block, PBBS, Advanced Visual Docking Guidance System at Calicut airport, Kerala; By: Prabhu. Ministry: Civil Aviation Foundation stone to increase parking bays in Jaipur airport, Rajasthan. By: Prabhu. Ministry: Civil Aviation Jalgaon-udhna doubling and electrification rail project, Rs 2400cr (double railway lines between Mah and Guj); 4 new trains flagged off including Khandesh Express. By: Modi. Ministry: Railways Foundation stone to increase parking bays at Amritsar airport, Punjab. By: Prabhu. Ministry: Civil Aviation Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase II (Rs 5384cr); Delhi-ghaziabad-meerut Corridor of Regional Rapid Transit System (Rs 30274cr). Ministry: Urban Affairs Foundation stones for National Highway and Namami Gange works amounting to Rs 5894cr at Haridwar, Uttarakhand. By: Gadkari; Ministry: Water Resources, Road Transport Passenger Boarding Bridges (PBB) and Advanced Visual Docking Guidance System at Trivandrum airport, Kerala. By: Suresh Prabhu. Ministry:

Plan to increase parking bays at Trivandrum airport. By: Prabhu; Ministry: Civil Aviation Foundation stone for hangar at Imphal airport, Manipal. By: Prabhu. Ministry: Civil Aviation

Foundation stone of Water Supply Scheme and Underground Sewer Project (AMRUT) for Dhule city, Mah, Rs 500cr est. By: Modi. Ministry: Housing & Urban Affairs Sahibganj Sewerage Treatment Plant, Madhusudan Ghat, Jharkhand (Namami Gange). By Modi. Ministry: Water Resources

Three medical colleges at Hazaribagh, Dumka, Palamu; Women Engineering college. By: Modi. Ministries: Health, HRD

FEB. Foundation stone of 51km Dhule-nardana and 107km Jalgaon–manmad lines in Mah. By: Narendra Modi. Ministry: Railways

First Diesel to Electric Converted Locomotive at Diesel Locomotive Works flagged off in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. By: Modi. Ministry: Railways

Development projects of Rs 3350cr in Varanasi announced. By: Modi. New railway line between Venkatachalam-vellikallu and Obulavaripalli-cherlopalli stations (Part of KrishnapatnamObulavaripalli new railway lines project, Andhra Pradesh). By: Naidu. Ministry: Railways Foundation stone of Redevelopment of GPRA Colony at Sriniwaspuri (Phase-i), Delhi, at a cost of Rs 3999cr. By: Hardeep S Puri. Ministry: Housing & Urban Affairs

Foundation stones for 2 road projects worth Rs 746cr, including construction of 2.5 km-long elevated structure and vehicular underpass on NH-44 at Phagwara city, Punjab. By: Gadkari. Ministry: Road Transport and Highways

FEB. Sahastrakund Eklavya Model Residential

School for adivasi students in Mah. By Modi. Ministry: Tribal Affairs Foundation stone for 4 hospitals (500 beds) at Hazaribagh, Dumka, Palamu and Jamshedpur. By: Modi. Ministry: Health & Family Welfare

FEB.

FEB. Announced research centre in Chandrapur to study sickle cell disease in Mah. By Modi. Ministry: Health & Family Welfare

FEB. “Our vision of development runs on two parallel lines, one being infrastructure, the other is to uplift...” Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Foundation stone for Urban Water Supply Scheme, Hazaribagh. By Modi. Ministry: Urban Affairs

Foundation stone for Centre for Tribal Studies, Hazaribagh. By: Modi. Ministry: Tribal Affairs

FEB.

Projects worth Rs 1387cr approved under Namami Gange in Yamuna towns, includes construction of sewage treatment plants and online monitoring systems of treatment plants. By: Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation 5.9km flyover Rs 758cr (est) in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh announced. By: Gadkari. Ministry: Road Transport

Passenger train ops between Venkatachalam-rapur stations, AP announced. By: Naidu. Ministry: Railways “We have started works in different parts of the country today, at the same time, in order to bring aviation sector ahead”

Suresh Prabhu, union minister Foundation stone to construct link building, parallel taxi track, additional parking bays at Bhubaneswar airport, Odisha. By: Prabhu. Ministry: Civil Aviation

FEB.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) launched. Announced by Modi; Ministry: Agriculture and Farmers Welfare