Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Solapur district on Wednesday is expected to officially inaugurate the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s election campaign in Maharashtra.
Mr. Modi’s visit and public address in Solapur forms part of the party’s massive, pre-poll public canvassing before the general election.
The PM is to launch a slew of mega-development projects, most notably the affordable housing project at Kumbhari village outside Solapur city. The Kumbhari scheme, which is spread over nearly 190 acres and is touted as one of Asia’s biggest affordable housing projects, aims to provide durable housing to families of 30,000 unorganised sector labourers at an affordable cost.
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), who initiated the Kumbhari model, have been involved in the construction of over 15,000 houses for beedi workers. The first batch of 10,000 houses was completed in 2006 and named after Communist leader and social activist Godavari Parulekar, while the second lot, completed in 2015, was named after pioneering trade unionist Meenakshi Sane, who strove to uplift beedi workers of the district.
Mr. Modi will also launch an underground sewerage scheme and a project for improving water distribution in Solapur city, sources said.
Mr. Modi’s visit, which comes close on the heels of BJP president Amit Shah’s visit to Latur, indicates the importance of Maharashtra for the saffron party.
In the 2014 general election, the BJP-Sena alliance won 41 of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, with the BJP bagging 23 (now 22 following a later by-poll defeat) and Shiv Sena 18. However, with hopes of an alliance with the Sena rapidly fading and with Swabhimani Paksha leader and MP Raju Shetti no longer with the BJP, the State now poses a challenge to the party.
