Last week was an exclusive Southern extragavanza for Prime Minister Modi, whose hectic schedule across three South Indian states, included diverse activities ranging from inauguration of new/expanded transportation services and development projects, participation in an important milestone of a historic Hindu organization to celebrating nature and wildlife.
Mr. Modi’s packed schedule for his visit to Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, came against the backdrop of a BJP political master stroke – a number of Congress leaders joining the BJP and a few celebrities pledging their support, adding to the woes of a party already embarrassed and weakened by multiple desertions and defections:
1) Kiran Kumar Reddy, ex-Andhra Pradesh (undivided A.P) Congress leader
and former chief minister, has joined the BJP.
2) C R Kesavan, Tamil Nadu Congress leader and great-grand son of C Rajagopalachari, freedom fighter and Congress stalwart from Gandhi’s time, having held several important party as well as government positions, opted to join the BJP.
3) Anil Anthony, elder son of Kerala Sr. Congress leader and former Union Minister, A.K Anthony has joined the BJP.
4) In poll bound Karnataka, current Lok Sabha MP (Independent) from Mandya, actress Sumalatha, wife of late actor-politician, Ambareesh, has declared her support for the BJP.
5) Popular Kannada actor, Kiccha Sudeep has openly endorsed his support for current BJP chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai.
The first and last stops in his tri-state visit were the election bound states of Telangana and Karnataka which are scheduled for state elections in 2023.
Telangana: PM Modi’s visit to Telangana started out with the much awaited launch of the new Vande Bharat express train service from Hyderabad/Secunderabad to the famous Andhra Pradesh temple town of Tirupati, establishing the second Vande Bharat express train service between important cities of the two Telugu states. Incidentally, Andhra too goes to the polls in the first half of next year.
BJP’s political opponent in Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao of the incumbent BRS party was conspicuously absent, as has been the case for a while now, indicative of heightened political rivalry between the BRS party and the BJP, ahead of the state elections.
The Telangana visit came just days after a high stakes drama of a stealthy, midnight arrest of the state’s BJP chief, Bandi Sanjay by the BRS government, claiming that he had played a role in the government’s failure to monitor and prevent any untoward incidents with question papers of the State Secondary School Board exams. The Telangana High Court granted bail to Bandi Sanjay and asked the state government to furnish acceptable proof of the leader’s alleged involvement, if any.
In the meanwhile, the state’s BJP has rubbished the claims of the BRS government and has stated that BRS leaders are trying to divert people’s attention away from the state’s failure to prevent the leakage of several secondary school Board exam papers, by blaming it on opposition parties. Some leaders also claimed that it may have been the BRS party’s retaliation ahead of Mr. Modi’s visit, for the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) investigation on K Kavitha’s role (CM K Chandrasekar Rao’s daughter) in the infamous Delhi Liquor scandal.
While in Hyderabad, the PM also inaugurated several developmental projects, including a new AIIMS institution for the state (All India Institute of Medical Sciences).
Tamil Nadu: PM Modi’s next stop was Chennai city, to inaugurate a swanky, new, terminal at the current International airport as well as flag off a new Vande Bharat express train service between Chennai and Coimbatore. His Chennai itinerary also included something of a personal passion – participation in the 125th anniversary of the Madras/Chennai city’s famed Ramakrishna Mission. Additionally, Mr.Modi signed off on a number of developmental projects as well.
Mr. Modi’s “Vannakam Chennai” visit appears to have been a successful one as evidenced by a large number of shared tweets. It also speaks of the rising recognition and popularity of the BJP in the state, headed by the charismatic, tough yet compassionate IPS officer, Mr. Annamalai. While TN’s state elections are not due for another three years, the Modi visit may help win more hearts and votes from the state, in the upcoming 2024 National /General elections.
In keeping with his style of personal interactions with ordinary Indians of humble backgrounds, the PM met the simple, rural couple, Bomman and Bellie at the Theppakadu elephant camp in the Mudumalai forest reserve (Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border), the central human characters in the 2023 Oscar winning documentary ‘The Elephant Whisperers’. The documentary tells the heartwarming story of the tribal couple’s relationship with an orphaned baby elephant.
Karnataka: With the state’s elections less than a month away, Mr.Modi’s visit is a definite morale booster for the Karnataka’s BJP leaders, cadre and supporters. The PM visited the Bandipur forest reserve in support of “Project Tiger”, an Indian wildlife succes story that was launched 50 years ago. This latest visit to Karnataka comes after several recent visits of Mr. Modi and other senior BJP leaders to the poll bound state, over the last year. He also met Bomman and Bellie of “The Elephant Whisperers” fame, emphasizing the government’s outreach to the tribal community.
On wrapping up a whirlwind tour of three South Indian states, it’s yet another “Mission Accomplished” for Indian PM, Modi who is widely acknowledged for his long, gruelling hours of hard work at age 72. His friends and colleagues have often remarked on Mr.Modi’s discipline, diligence and sense of duty towards India, in a bid to accomplish as much as possible for the nation, on any given day.
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