Well-known for his packed-to-the-rafters schedule, in 125 days starting December 25 till May 1, PM Modi held 200 programmes across 27 states and Union Territories, 30 in Delhi itself, and 14 Cabinet meetings starting at the turn of the year.
New Delhi: While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been on a hectic election campaigning, he has managed to touch perhaps every section of Indian, from students to scientists, farmers to entrepreneurs, foreign heads of state to BJP workers.
Well-known for his packed-to-the-rafters schedule, in 125 days starting December 25 till May 1, PM Modi held 200 programmes across 27 states and Union Territories, 30 in Delhi itself, and 14 Cabinet meetings starting at the turn of the year.
From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Jamnagar to Silchar, the prime minister managed to visit every part of the nation.
Starting February 2019, PM Modi visited Jammu and Kashmir where in just a day he covered all three geographical regions — Ladakh, Jammu and the Kashmir valley. He dedicated development projects worth thousands of crores to the nation.
In Srinagar, the prime minister held a wide-ranging dialogue with the people of the Valley, squeezing in a boat ride in the scenic Dal Lake.
Since the start of the year, PM Modi has made multiple visits to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. In the run up to the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, he laid infra projects to serve sectors, such as energy and agriculture.
PM Modi launched his flagship welfare scheme for farmers, the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, in Gorakhpur on February 24. The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Man Dhan Yojana that assures a monthly pension to workers in the unorganised sector, was launched from Ahmedabad on March 5.
PM Modi was at the holy Sangam in Prayagraj on February 24, where he took the holy dip, becoming the first Prime Minister in recent history to visit a Kumbh Mela.
In the past few months, PM Modi has visited several centres closely associated with India’s history and culture. In December last year, PM Modi was on the shores of Port Blair to pay his tribute to VD Savarkar and several others at the iconic Cellular Jail.
In Port Blair, he unfurled the Tricolour to mark the 75th anniversary of the unfurling of the National Flag by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He also addressed a mammoth public meeting at the same spot where Netaji has spoken after hoisting the Tricolour.
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On the birth anniversary of Netaji, PM Modi inaugurated a museum dedicated to him and the Indian National Army, called ‘Kranti Mandir’. Located in the Red Fort in Delhi, the museum showcases the courage and valour of the INA, apart from preserving the valourous story of the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
On the Punya Tithi of Mahatma Gandhi, PM Modi inaugurated a state-of-the-art Salt Satyagraha Memorial and Museum in Gujarat’s Dandi.
In the same spirit, PM Modi went to Kanyakumari to spent time at the Vivekananda Kendra.
Amid his numerous tours, PM Modi took out time to pray at iconic temples. In January, he was at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram and in March he visited the Tripura Sundari Temple in Tripura.
He also sent his good wishes to mark the foundation stone of a Temple in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
In the last 150 days, PM Modi visited his constituency Varanasi five times as MP Modi.
In January he went to Varanasi for the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas, while in February he launched various development works. On the International Day of Women, March 8, PM Modi interacted with women and self-help groups in Kashi. His April visit was related to filing his nomination papers seeking re-election. This included the massive road-show where lakhs of people hit the streets of Kashi to support their MP who is the PM.
While the ancient city of Varanasi has seen a spectacular turn-round since the PM took over as the MP, one project in particular that stands out is the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project to improve the infrastructure at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The central aspect of the project is the restoration of hundreds of temples around the Vishwanath Temple that were hidden inside houses and encroachments. The project also envisions connecting the Ganga with the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
The PM dedicated to the nation the Rashtriya Samar Smarak or the National War Memorial. Since Independence, this was the first tribute to our brave hearts martyred in the line of duty.
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At Amethi in UP March 2019 to inaugurate a rifle unit, which would produce state-of-the-art guns. Earlier in January, the PM was in Hazira, Gujarat, to inaugurate the L&T gun factory. During the programme, PM Modi also sat on the K9 Vajra artillery gun.
On 27th March, PM Modi delivered a historic message to the nation in which he announced the success of the A-SAT (Anti-Satellite Missile Test). This was a landmark moment in India’s history, where India joined an exclusive list of nations. Tab thik ache se kam!
The PM has also had individual interactions with leading Bollywood actors including Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt among others.
There have been some programmes on the PM’s calendar that stand out for their humane nature.
Nobody can forget PM Modi washing the feet of sanitation workers during the Kumbh in Prayagraj. The PM himself said this is an occasion that will forever be etched in his memory.
PM Modi also honoured champions of the Swachh Bharat Mission at a pro-gramme in Kurukshetra, Haryana.
During one of his visits to Kashi, PM Modi was received by a group of Divyang sisters and brothers including one of whom mimicked the Prime Minister and other Ministers.
In February, PM travelled to Mathura to feed the 3 billionth meal of the Akshaya Patra Foundation. He interacted with little children and served them their food.
Similar interactions that stand out are those with beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat, the flagship healthcare scheme of the Central Government.
He flagged off the Vande Bharat Ex-press flagged from New Delhi Railway station.
Other leading infrastructure works PM Modi inaugurated include the Kollam By-pass in Kerala and the Bogibeel Bridge in Assam.
In January, PM Modi spent two days at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, where he elaborated on the economic agenda of the Government. On the sidelines of the Summit, he also held several bilateral meetings.
These include meetings with the Prime Minister of Malta, President of Uzbekistan, Prime Minister of Czech Republic, Prime Minister of Denmark and other Ministers.
In April, there was a separate interaction with traders in Delhi where PM expanded on the Government’s efforts for small business and the MSME sector.
In a unique method of connecting with BJP workers, BJP took to technology and started the ‘Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot’ interactions. In a series of such pro-grammes, PM addressed BJP workers from various Parliamentary constituencies and took questions from them. These programmes gave an insight into the organisational genius of the Prime Minister including the appeal to strengthen the party at the booth level.
As the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls progressed, PM Modi took part in various interviews with both print and electronic media. His interviews included a walk-through in the lawns of the PM residence with Times Now and interaction with India Today on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi.
There was also the non-political dialogue with Akshay Kumar, where PM shared facets about his life that were never heard of, including his childhood.
PM Modi met the Editor of Financial Times, where he spoke on the Indian economy and the role of India in the global order.
In order to deepen connect with India’s youth, PM Modi joined three record-breaking Townhall Programmes.
One was in Surat, where PM highlighted his vision for India of the 21st century.
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There was also the Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0 Townhall where PM spoke to students, parents and teachers on how to beat the exam stress.
At the end of March, PM took part in the ‘Mai Bhi Chowkidar’ programme where again young professionals from all walks of life took part.
No political campaign is ever complete without the vibrancy of roadshows. These shows give leaders and voters a special opportunity to engage. PM Modi has held three roadshows so far, one each in Bhubaneswar, Ranchi and Varanasi. Each of them was joined by a large number of people.
For any head of state, foreign policy is an important area of attention. In February, PM Modi went to South Korea for a bilateral visit. During that visit he also received the Seoul Peace Prize.
The last few months witnessed incoming visits by the President of Argentina Mauricio Macri and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman. Both these visits in February led to the vital strengthening of India’s bi-lateral partnerships with important allies in South America and West Asia.
In the last two months, PM Modi has also been conferred with top civilian honours of Russia and UAE. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi personally announced the conferring of the Zayed Medal to PM Modi while President Putin announced that PM Modi would be receiving the Order Of St. Andrew The Apostle.
PM Modi dedicated these honours to the people of India and India’s culture of peace and brotherhood.
February witnessed the horrific Pulwama attack where terrorists struck at a convoy of CRPF jawans. PM Modi authorised armed forces with powers to retaliate and the outcome was the Balakot Air Strikes that put Pakistan on the defensive.
PM Modi’s proactive foreign policy has diminished the stature and voice of Pakistan at the world stage. On May 1 India seized a significant diplomatic victory as Masood Azhar was declared a terrorist by the UN.
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