Prime Minister Narendra Modi pet theme in electoral campaigns is “double engine growth” and he makes every attempt to put it to full use as he traverses election-bound states. The idea is that he is leading a Central government that is keen to put the nation on the track of development and a state government which is politically aligned to the Centre will effectively have a double engine that can accelerate growth.
Mr Modi has hit the latest campaign trail this week with visits to Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Rajasthan. They will go to polls later this year, along with Madhya Pradesh. Mr Modi will launch infrastructure projects worth thousands of crores in Chhattisgarh, including national highways, in his first visit to the state in his second term as Prime Minister. Road projects will be opened in Telangana and Rajasthan, too. In addition, Mr Modi will lay the foundation for a coach manufacturing unit In Telangana. Mr Modi would have announced 50 projects that entail an investment of Rs 50,000 crores by the time he ends his two-day tour.
Yet, the people have not responded all too positively to the PM’s gambit. Despite the opening of a series of projects including the Bengaluru-Mysore expressway, the people of Karnataka chose the Congress as Himachal Pradesh did before that.
This realisation would have prompted the BJP leadership to issue an advisory recently to its state units to bring to public recall the performance of respective state governments. It is true that Mr Modi remains the best communicator-politician of our times but the BJP will have to deliver on his promises. That will make his job easier.
