Kick-starting BJP’s Lok Sabha campaign from the land of Dogras, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged the people “to help the BJP win 370 seats and the NDA 400 seats in elections”.

Addressing a jam-packed gathering here at Maulana Azad sports stadium in Jammu after inaugurating developmental projects worth Rs 32,000 crore, Modi said that Article 370, which was scrapped in 2019, was the biggest “roadblock” in the development of Jammu & Kashmir.

Expressing his vision for a flourishing (Viksit) Jammu & Kashmir, Modi vowed to construct infrastructure to the level of international destinations like Switzerland. “We have pledged a developed J&K and I have full faith that we will make Jammu & Kashmir more developed and fulfill all your dreams within the next few years… We will create such infrastructure in Kashmir that people will forget going to Switzerland,” he said amid thundering applause.

Modi highlighted the surge in investments from Gulf countries following a G20 event held in the region last year, which brought global attention to its scenic beauty.

He informed that Jammu & Kashmir recorded more than 2 crore visitors last year while the number of pilgrims visiting Amarnath and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi has reached a record in the last decade. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the number of tourists is only going to increase considering the fast-paced development of infrastructure.

Before addressing the gathering, Modi recited a famous Dogri couplet of Padma Sachdev “Mitthdi-e-Dogri Di Boli Te Khand Mithe log dogre”. A large number of people from Rajouri and Poonch attended the public rally in response to the passage of the bill which granted Scheduled Tribe status to the Pahari ethnic group. Senior Pahari leaders Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Syed Mushtaq Bukhari and Shehnaz Ganai attended the public rally.

In his over half an hour-long speech, Modi also targeted the dynastic rulers. He said, “The dynastic rulers were only concerned about their interests. They had no concern for the future of the youth and their families as they were only concerned about their own families. The government whose priority is the welfare of just one family cannot think of the welfare of the common people,” Modi said in an apparent reference to the Congress, the National Conference, and the PDP who ruled the erstwhile State in the past seven decades.

“We have seen the days when only disappointing news used to come from J&K. Bombs, guns, kidnapping, and separatism had become its misfortune. Today, we are seeing a new J&K with balanced and holistic development,” Modi said.

Despite the rain, thousands of locals attended the rally. It was Modi’s second visit to the Jammu region after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. Earlier he had addressed a public rally in the Village Palli of Samba district in April 2022.

The Prime Minister said that the Constitutional promise of social justice finally reached refugee families, Valmiki Community and Safai Karamcharis. Valmiki Community attained SC status in what the Prime Minister termed as fulfillment of years-old demand. Paddari, Pahari, Gadda Brahmans and Kolis have been included in the Scheduled Tribe category. Pointing out the reservation for ST in the Legislative Assembly and OBC reservation in Panchayats, and urban local bodies, the Prime Minister said, “The Mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas is the foundation of the development of Jammu & Kashmir.”

Taking on the Congress, Modi said this party only believed in lip service to the armed forces and it was his government that fulfilled promises like ‘One Rank One Pension’, benefiting soldiers.

Earlier, the PM engaged with the newly recruited government employees and beneficiaries of various schemes during which he underscored the government’s commitment to a developed and inclusive future for Jammu and Kashmir.

During such an interaction with a woman from a remote area of Jammu region, the PM sought the support of the country’s women and in making one crore women in India “lakhpati didis”.

Referring to the projects which he either inaugurated or laid the foundation stone for, Modi said it was a remarkable day for Jammu and Kashmir. “The projects in Jammu and Kashmir will propel holistic development of the region,” he said.

From Jammu, the PM launched or laid the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 13,500 crore across the country. These include IITs, IIMs and Central Universities.

 Modi also inaugurated 750-bed AIIMS, Jammu. He dedicated various rail projects which included a new rail line between Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan (48 km) and flagged off the first electric train in the valley and a train service between the Sangaldan in Jammu division and Baramulla stations. This was welcomed immediately by the National Conference president Farooq Abdullah who termed it a “big step by the railway ministry and Prime Minister Modi”.

The Prime Minister touched upon the NaMo Drone Didi scheme where women in large numbers are being trained to become drone pilots.