Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new section of the Kanpur Metro Rail project on Tuesday, December 28. The Rs 11,000 crore project opens its door to the public ahead of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Assembly elections. 

Accompanied by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Petrol Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Modi took a ten-minute ride on the new metro train, from the IIT-Kanpur station to the Geeta Nagar stop. While addressing the inauguration, he said, “Today, Kanpur received metro connectivity. I congratulate you and whole of Uttar Pradesh for this achievement.”

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The Prime Minister also noted that the metro ride was a memorable experience while observing that before 2014, UP had just 9km of metro rail operations. However, the situation is different now, as Modi pointed out, saying, “The length of the metro increased to a total of 18 km between 2014-2017. If we include Kanpur Metro today, the length of metro in UP has now exceeded 90 km.” 

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While there were metro lines in five Indian cities previously, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s development drive has resulted in UP itself boasting of five metro lines. Work on the project started in 2019, and the Modi government’s support is evident in the circular, stating, “Improving urban mobility has been one of the key focus areas of the Prime Minister. The inauguration of the completed section of the Kanpur Metro Rail Project is yet another step in this direction”.

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Recently, Modi has been inaugurating various projects in UP, and the BJP has also upped its drive in terms of outreach. A four-member committee was formed at the behest of party president JP Nadda, to ensure Brahmins in the state, who form an influential vote bank, had their intentions represented. It’s obvious that the BJP is looking to win in UP a second consecutive year.