Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Assam on Friday, unveiling infrastructure projects worth over $5 billion, including land allocations for tea plantation workers, a dam project, and major road and rail corridors. The visit is part of a broader tour of states ahead of upcoming elections, including key battleground West Bengal.
Assam, with a population of about 32 million, is currently fully controlled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is scheduled to visit West Bengal, home to 105 million people and led by his rival Mamata Banerjee of the All India Trinamool Congress, to inaugurate projects worth roughly $2 billion in roads, railways, ports, and shipping aimed at boosting economic growth.
State elections later this year will also take place in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. Modi has already visited Tamil Nadu and Kerala, announcing investments exceeding $600 million and $1 billion, respectively, in infrastructure, manufacturing, and transport projects. Kerala’s contest pits the Congress-led opposition against the ruling left-wing alliance, while past elections in West Bengal and Kerala have been marked by violent clashes ahead of polls.
The Election Commission is expected to announce dates later this month, with voting anticipated in April and May.
