Once home to dreaded dacoits such as Man Singh, the ravines in Chambal will soon see a state-of-art expressway. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to lay the foundation stone of the Chambal-Gwalior Expressway, now rechristened as the Atal Expressway. Once completed, the 309-km Chambal expressway will serve as a critical connector between Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. This expressway will also be at heart of inter-connectivity between key projects such as Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Delhi-Kolkata corridor, East-West corridor among others.
Chambal Expressway: The political significance
Beyond the infrastructural value, the Atal Expressway holds critical significance for the Chambal-Gwalior region. This region, which sends 36 lawmakers to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, was once a citadel of the Congress. In 2018, the Grand Old Party surprised many as it bagged 26 out of 36 seats in the Assembly polls. But a series of revolts and in-fights led to the BJP coming back to power in 2020 with Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the helm of affairs.
If we look at the present situation, both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress are on equal footing. While Congress’ tally came down to 17, the BJP has improved its standing and now has 16 seats in the Chambal-Gwalior region which it sees as its bastion and home to some of its biggest leaders.
The royal rumble of Scindia
Another key factor that will dominate the state election this year is the presence of Jyotiraditya Scindia in the BJP camp. Will the local leaders and the vote bank prove their allegiance to Scindia irrespective of the party name? The BJP may ace the game in this region as the opposition Congress doesn’t have any leader who can rival Scindia’s stature. Apart from Scindia, the BJP has other big names from the region such as state home minister Narottam Mishra, and Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
Expressways: The road to elections
Not just the Atal Expressway, Madhya Pradesh will also see PM Modi inaugurating the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway stretch sometime next month. This infra push by the Narendra Modi government will help the Centre to showcase the development card and send out the message of ‘double engine sarkar’ to the vote bank.
Infrastructure development has been key to Modi’s positioning of his government, at the state and the Centre, as one that is development-oriented when compared to the “policy paralysis” that BJP often associates with the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government. Development of highways and expressways is also at the Centre of Modi’s promise to turn India into the world’s third-largest economy during his third term.
Know about Gwalior-Chambal region
Once known as Gwalior kingdom, the region has now been divided into eight districts. They are Gwalior, Ashoknagar, Guna, Bhind, Sheopur, Morena, Shivpuri and Datia. Elections in Madhya Pradesh are scheduled to be held in the November-December period this year. The elections are likely to see a direct contest between traditional rivals Congress and the ruling BJP.