Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sounded the bugle for the next parliamentary elections during a speech in the Jammu and Kashmir region on Tuesday.
The prime minister spoke at length about India’s growth and said the country will become the world's third-largest economy in the next five years.
The speech is important given that the 2024 general elections will take place in April and May with Prime Minister Modi expected to win his party a third consecutive term.
"India has moved from 11th economy to 5th largest economy in last 10 years. India will become the world's 3rd largest economy in the next five years. People will forget Switzerland in the next few years,” Modi said on Tuesday.
The prime minister is visiting the region to inaugurate several key developmental projects worth nearly $3.8 billion, including a specialty All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital.
Modi also flagged off the first electric train in the Kashmir region as well as speaking about India’s G20 presidency and a host of successful meetings with the international community held across the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir.
The leader also said that many Arab countries were showing interest in investing in the region after the efforts of the BJP government in building better relations with the global community.
“There is a positivity about investing in Kashmir. The successful G20 meeting in the country and Srinagar have echoed in the globe. A record two crore tourists have visited J&K in the past one year. More visitors will come with the train network expansions from Srinagar to Jammu and the new express highway from Jammu to Delhi,” Modi said.
Making his election pitch during the speech, Modi referred to his government’s decision to revoke the semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir granted by article 370 of the Indian constitution. He also endorsed an upcoming Hindi film on the subject.
“Kashmir is taking a new shape now. The biggest wall between Jammu and Kashmir and the country was article 370. The BJP removed that wall. All development initiatives get implemented simultaneously now. It’s the removal of article 370 that gave us confidence to seek 370 seats for the BJP and 400 for the NDA [ruling National Democrtic Alliance],” Modi said.
Similarly, Modi took a dig at the Indian National Congress and regional political parties including National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, accusing them of engaging in dynasty politics.
"We will ensure JK is free of dynasty politics, The government will replace dynasty politics with development.