As Lok Sabha elections draw near, PM Modi goes on a ribbon-cutting spree

With the Election Commission expected to announce the schedule for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections any day now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be on an inauguration spree.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi went criss-crossing Uttar Pradesh on Friday, undertaking a trip which saw him attend inauguration ceremonies for number of schemes in Varanasi in the eastern part of the state to Ghaziabad, which is on the western extreme and on the outskirts of the national capital.

In Ghaziabad, Modi inaugurated the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut rapid rail link, while in Kanpur, he participated in a ceremony for Kanpur Metro rail network. In Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath corridor.

Not only on Friday, PM Modi has been on a roller coaster of inauguration, launches and laying foundation stones for the past few days. Here are a few of them:

On March 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad, launched the "One Nation, One Card" programme to ensure seamless travel across the country. The card can be used for payments across different segments, including Metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, parking and retail purchases.

On March 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared 'April 2019-March 2020' as Construction-Technology year and stressed on use of advanced technology to meet the increasing demand of housing in the country caused by rapid urbanisation. He also sought the support of the private sector in fulfilling the government's mission of providing brick house to every Indian by 2022.

On February 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the ambitious PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi), a cash-transfer scheme, in Gorakhpur in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and used the event to accuse the opposition of shedding crocodile tears for farmers.

On February 15, PM Modi launched India's first semi-high speed train. The express, initially called Train 18, which was rechristened to Vande Bharat Express

On February 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Hubballi in Karnataka launched development projects. After laying the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus building in Dharwad, he dedicated to the nation the 1.5 million tonne Mangaluru and the 2.5 million tonne Padur strategic reserve petroleum facilities of the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) as well as the doubled 18 km Chikjajur-Mayakonda section of railway track. He also initiated the electrification project of the 346-km-long Hospeta-Hubballi-Vasco da Gama railway line.

On February 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a host of new as well as completed projects in Tamil Nadu from Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu. Modi laid the foundation of a 100-bed Employees State Insurance Corp (ESIC) health facility. The Prime Minister also laid foundation stones for a new integrated building of the Trichy Airport and for modernisation of the Chennai airport via video conference. The PM also dedicated to the nation, a 470-bed ESIC Hospital and the Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd's Ennore Coastal Terminal in Chennai. He also inaugurated a crude oil pipeline from the Chennai Port to the Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd (CPCL)'s Manali refinery in Chennai. He also flagged off a passenger service between a 10-km section of the Chennai Metro Rail -- AG-DMS Metro Station to Washermenpet Metro Station.

On February 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched development projects in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh amid protests staged across Andhra Pradesh against his visit to the state. At an event, he unveiled plaques to formally unveil the projects which have come up or would be built in different parts of the state. He dedicated the 1.33 million metric tonnes of Visakhapatnam Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) facility of the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL) built at a cost of ₹1,178 crore. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited's Vashishta and S1 development project at Amalapuram on the Krishna-Godavari Offshore Basin. Modi also laid the foundation stone for setting up of a new terminal of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at Krishnapatnam. It will be built at a cost of ₹700 crore.