Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Visakhapatnam on 11 and 12 November will be keenly watched for many reasons.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. (Supplied)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on 11 and 12 November will be keenly watched for many reasons.
A roadshow and the launch or inauguration of several central projects are part of Modi’s itinerary during his two-day visit to Visakhapatnam this weekend.
Along with Modi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will participate in the official meeting that will be held on 12 November.
Over the last few days, both YSRCP and BJP leaders were engaged in a turf war over taking credit for Modi’s visit and the projects.
Modi’s second visit to Andhra Pradesh in less than six months has once again brought to the fore the BJP’s plans to expand its base in the South Indian states, especially in both the Telugu states.
BJP cadres, who are upbeat over Modi’s visit to Visakhapatnam, are making elaborate arrangements to accord him a grand reception — especially for the roadshow.
“After reaching Visakhapatnam from Madurai, Modi will participate in the roadshow that is being planned for almost an hour en route to his accommodation at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) headquarters from INS Dega — the naval air station,” said BJP Rajya Sabha member GVL Narasimha Rao.
According to the official itinerary, Modi will reach Visakhapatnam from Madurai at 7.25 pm on 11 November.
He will leave for the Eastern Naval Command headquarters where the prime minister will stay at INS Chola.
On 12 November, the prime minister will participate in a public meeting at the Andhra University Engineering College grounds.
He will reach the venue at 10.30 am from the ENC headquarters by road, and leave the venue at 11.45 pm after inaugurating and launching several major projects.
Modi’s visit gains significance in the wake of Andhra Pradesh’s changing political dynamics as well as the destination of Modi’s visit.
Known as the Jewel of the East Coast, Visakhapatnam has been in the limelight for at least a few weeks now. It has become a political battleground after Jagan declared it the state’s executive capital.
The announcement was part of the YSRCP government’s three-capitals plan, now caught in a legal tangle.
Visakhapatnam has shot into political prominence over the past few years, and all political parties have been focusing on the city.
For the BJP, it has the right mix of urban voters and a significant north Indian population. In the 2014 general elections, BJP candidate Kambhampati Haribabu won the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha seat by trouncing Jagan’s mother YS Vijayalakshmi of the YSRCP by a margin of around 80,000 votes. The TDP had then supported the BJP.
While there were high expectations that Modi, during his visit to Visakhapatnam, will lay the foundation for the building of a new railway zone announced by the Centre, it was conspicuously missing from the list of projects that the prime minster is expected to either lay the stone for or inaugurate.
A separate railway zone has been hanging fire despite the Centre’s announcement of it in 2018.
“The railway zone was announced by the Centre in the past, and another announcement about It will be out soon,” said Narasimha Rao.
In all, Modi will lay the foundation or inaugurate nine projects worth ₹15,233 crore.
The prime minister visited Bhimavaram — the headquarters of the West Godavari district — in July to attend the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of revolutionary freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju. The celebrations were held as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Before this, Modi visited Andhra Pradesh only during the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019. He also visited the state in 2015, to lay the foundation stone for the construction of the Amaravati capital city.
Incidentally, though an invite was extended to Jana Sena supremo Pawan Kalyan, he skipped the Bhimavaram meeting. The Jana Sena is an ally of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh.
However, Pawan’s recent meeting with TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has been seen as a sign of the actor distancing from the BJP and cosying up to the TDP. The BJP, meanwhile, has appeared unperturbed by the development.
“The prime minister’s programme in Visakhapatnam is an official programme, and invitees are decided by the PMO,” said Narasimha Rao when asked if Pawan Kalyan was invited to it.
An invitation for the Bhimvaram programme to Pawan Kalyan’s brother megastar Chiranjeevi surprised many. It was seen as a move where Modi was striking a rapport with Chiranjeevi.
The cutting of trees in the AU Engineering College grounds and the razing of a few shops near Modi’s meeting venue have stoked a controversy.
Dozens of trees were either felled or uprooted to make more space and also security arrangements for Modi’s meeting at the AU Engineering College grounds.
YSRCP Rajya Sabha member V Vijaysai Reddy said the big trees were scientifically uprooted as part of the security arrangements and the teak trees could not be uprooted, hence they were felled.
For every teak tree felled, at least 10 trees would be planted on the campus as per the WALTA Act, said Vijaysai Reddy, adding that the felled trees would be auctioned as per norms.
A few shops near the meeting venue were also removed by the local civic authorities citing security arrangements. The civic body said the shops were set up illegally and notices were served for their evacuation many times.
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