- PM Modi to inaugurate projects worth Rs 1.08 lakh crore in Banswara, Rajasthan
- The highlight will be the 2,800 MW Mahi Banswara Nuclear Power Project
- The project aims to boost development in the tribal belt near Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
The BJP is hoping to hit it big in the tribal hinterland of south Rajasthan on the Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh borders, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone of a nuclear power project in the region. His visit is expected to boost the development script of the BJP and firm up the party's political narrative in this region, which is threatened by fault lines of caste.
PM Modi will visit Banswara on Thursday to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 1.08 lakh crore. The highlight of the visit will be the launch of the 2,800 MW Mahi Banswara Nuclear Power Project, which will play a crucial role in strengthening India's energy sector.
The atomic energy plant on the Mahi Bajaj Sagar project is already functioning. The nuclear power project is aimed at bringing development to this backward tribal belt that has recently seen a resurgence of tribal identity politics.
The nuclear power project -- Rajasthan's second -- will not only help the BJP set their sights firmly on developmental politics but is also the answer to the growth of regional parties like the BAP in south Rajasthan that have severely dented the Congress and BJP vote banks.
Speaking to NDTV, BJP president Madan Rathore - who was at Napla to oversee the arrangements ahead of PM Modi's visit - said: "We don't look at caste identities. We only look at development and the BJP is firmly committed to development politics in this region. With the growth of nuclear power, not only does Rajasthan help the country meet its energy goals in 2047, but development will bring employment and help other ancillary industries like tourism in the area".
The Bhartiya Adivasi Party, or BAP, has recently made inroads into the BJP Congress vote bank, winning three assembly seats and the Lok Sabha seat of Banswara as well. Its vote percentage has tripled since 2018 and it won the Banswara Lok Sabha seat by a 2 lakh margin.
Its MP, Rajkumar Roat, sat on protest against PM Modi's visit, demanding that the government spend CSR funds from the project in the area for tribal development.
But BJP's Rajendra Rathore, former Leader of the Opposition, said the Rajasthan government has given complete compensation for the land acquired and development is in progress, with two schools and a hospital being built in Napla village.
