After attacks against the NCP and the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, the concluding day of campaigning for the Maharashtra elections, highlighted the eco-tourism potential of the Konkan region on the western coast.
Referring to the Alphonso mango, widely grown in the area, he addressed the concerns of its cultivators and spoke about the fruit’s increasing potential in the international market.
Mr. Modi, who addressed three rallies — in Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg — also tried to draw a link between the fishermen living in Gujarat and Maharashtra’s coastal region. “Your land is closely linked to Gujarat,” Mr. Modi said at Palghar, adding that the two groups shared a special bond. “Our fishermen go all the way to Gujarat, close to the Pakistan border, just like you do. Pakistan arrests them,” he said. Mr. Modi said there was a huge potential for fish exports and fishermen could use satellites to increase their catch.