Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi on 15 July, when he will inaugurate and lay the foundation for several projects. This will be his first trip to his constituency this year.
This visit looks set to kickstart the BJP’s assembly election campaign as the PM will address a public meeting after the inaugurations of the projects.
Although the Prime Minister’s schedule has not been declared officially, sources told ThePrint that Modi is likely to inaugurate the Rudraksha Convention Center, built in the city with the help of the Japanese government, and will remotely inaugurate nine medical colleges in nine districts.
Sources added that the PM will emphasise the state government’s development agenda at the public meeting, which will be attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh. The ambassador of Japan is also likely to be present there.
“PM Modi will stay in Varanasi for five hours. He will first go to Kashi Vishwanath temple to offer prayers and then head to the main event where he will inaugurate several development projects worth over Rs 400 crore for his constituency,” said a senior BJP leader of the Varanasi zone.
“We are planning a Jan Sabha either at the Kashi Vidyapith or at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University,” he added. “The PM may visit BHU and meet some intellectuals there.”
On his last visit to the city on 30 November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited an archaeological site at Sarnath to watch a light and sound show. He also attended the Dev Deepawali Mahotsav in Varanasi.
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More visits likely to happen
According to a source in the UP government, PM Modi will visit the state to inaugurate different projects in the next few months. Assembly elections are due in the state early next year.
The source added that the Purvanchal Expressway, connecting Lucknow and Ghazipur, the Gorakhpur AIIMS, and the Kanpur Metro are among the several development projects nearing completion this year. “So, we may see some big inauguration events this year,” the source said.
Insiders in the UP government said the Yogi administration will focus on the development narrative along with its main poll plank of Hindutva.
“The government is trying to complete development projects on schedule so they can be inaugurated before the code of conduct comes into effect for the 2022 assembly elections,” a second source said.
Importance of visit
PM Modi’s visit is also important after the recent developments in the UP BJP.
The party’s national organisation incharge B.L. Santhosh had visited Lucknow twice last month to sort out issues between the government and the organisation.
“After B.L. Santhosh’s two visits to Lucknow in the same month, coordination between the government and the organisation is increasing. The party’s general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal, state party president Swatantra Dev Singh, and other senior functionaries have been sharing various initiatives of the Yogi government on social media,” a senior BJP functionary said. “That is the impact of B.L. Santhosh’s meetings.”
This will be the PM’s first visit since the party overhaul.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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