The Noida International Airport (NIAL) was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in an event to showcase the unmistakable stamp of the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government.
The airport, which will presently have only a single runway operational, is designed to expand to five runways across four phases, with the full build-out expected to run through the next decade. At its full potential, the airport will operate international flights to all major destinations and aims to address the long-suppressed demand for air connectivity in India's most populous state. The first phase of NIAL has been built with an investment of Rs 11,500 crore, and the entire project is set to cost Rs 29,600 crore. Built over much larger land parcel than the Delhi airport, NIAL will address some of the chronic traffic bottlenecks at Indira Gandhi International Airport, which is already operating almost at its design capacity.
NIAL could become a catalyst for kickstarting a broader economic cycle, from defence manufacturing to semiconductors. An aspiration that ties in well with a state that is vital politically and economically.
With urban youth unemployment in the state a concern, the ruling BJP hopes the airport will generate employment for lakhs of people and meet its long-term estimates of eventually handling 300 million passengers annually.
The larger and more immediate impact of this high-visibility infrastructure project, however, will be political - given the state goes to polls in less than a year.
BJP's Development Narrative
The inauguration arrives at a pivotal moment, ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
For Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the project is the centrepiece of a development narrative built around expressways, industrial corridors, and now, an airport that rivals India's largest airports.
Adityanath - looking to score a hattrick and thereby cement his position - has an infra story from metros to, now, airports backing him.
The fact that successive Samajwadi Party governments sat over the project, which was greenlighted in 2001, will be a prominent electoral message by the BJP.
Western UP And Jat Votebank
The airport's location in western Uttar Pradesh makes it significant in the state's electoral geography.
The development of Jewar Airport after the BJP's loss of ground in western Uttar Pradesh during the farmers' agitation will be a key instrument to rebuild goodwill.
Western UP - historically volatile and dominated by Jat and OBC communities - is key in the state's electoral calculus.
In the 2022 assembly elections, Jat anger over farm laws had helped the SP-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance make gains in western UP, with the BJP's seat count in the region falling from 51 in 2017 to 35 - a warning signal Adityanath has not forgotten.
A now-operational airport, bringing jobs and investment to this very belt, gives the BJP a counter-narrative heading into 2027.
Opposition's Opening
For the SP and Congress, the NIAL is also a potential liability to exploit. Opposition leaders, including Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have raised the issue of farmer displacement during the airport's foundation-stone laying in 2021, questioning why farmers had not received adequate compensation and why families were living in makeshift conditions.
Disgruntled and displaced landowners offer the opposition to build a tangible and grassroots narrative to run against the BJP's development story.
The political arithmetic, then, is delicate.
NIAL is the BJP's most powerful proof point in western UP. For the opposition, grievances of displacement are its only runway in a state that will determine the relevance and ability of a united opposition in taking on the BJP and its popular Chief Minister.
(Gaurie Dwivedi is Executive Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
