From development to namkeen, competitive electoral promises rain in Indore

The battle for Indore is a battle between competitive electoral promises. Voters of the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, which goes to the polls in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 19, will have to choose between its inclusion in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), as promised by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), and a "super corridor" to a Gujarat port, as pitched by the Congress.
 
Connecting Indore with the DMIC will cut down the time and cost of transporting goods and boost industrial growth in Indore and its adjoining areas, says Shankar Lalwani, the candidate put up by the BJP after it benched Sumitra Mahajan, who has been winning from this seat since 1989.

 
The DMIC aims to slash the road travel time between Delhi and Mumbai by half — to 12 hours.
 

Clad in a bright saffron kurta, Lalwani, who is a former chairman of the Indore Development Authority (IDA), and is considered a “weak” candidate by many, says that he expects to win by a huge margin. In a late night meeting with city traders along with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, he pointed out that land acquisition for connecting Indore with the DMIC was already underway and the process of inviting tenders would commence soon.
 
Not to be outdone, Pankaj Sanghvi, the millionaire candidate of the Congress, is offering Indore a super corridor, which will connect the city with the port of Dahej in Gujarat. Indore is India’s biggest producer of soya bean, which is exported across the globe, including the United States. A fast connection to the port will be a big benefit for producers, says Sanghvi, who is hoping to beat his opponent by a margin of at least 100,000 votes, even though he has not won any election in the last 30 years.

 
The Congress manifesto for the city also talks about a 20-km-long industrial corridor between Indore airport and the Pithampur industrial area. The towns of Pithampur and Dewas house a number of big pharmaceutical units, including those of Cipla, Lupin and Glenmark, all within 50km of Indore.
 
The BJP too is tempting voters with a slew of other promises. On the cards, it says, is a metropolitan authority to ensure the all-round development of the satellite and industrial townships on the outskirts of Indore. “With many industrial townships having come up around Indore, the load falls on the city because there is a lack of proper housing, transport, drinking water and drainage facilities in these areas. People work on the outskirts, but live in Indore. A metropolitan authority will oversee the proper development of all surrounding townships so that they are in sync with Indore,” says Lalwani, who plans to use his experience in the IDA in this regard. 

 
The BJP candidate says that he wants to take development decisions in consultation with the public. “I will consult the citizens on where they want the MP Local Area Development funds to be spent. Besides, I will take forward the work initiated by our beloved Tai (Sumitra Mahajan), and will beef up public transportation to address the city’s traffic problem.” Indore’s vehicle per capita is more than that of Delhi and Mumbai and traffic and air pollution are a big menace, adds Lalwani.
 
In his meeting with trade bodies, Gadkari, too, promised biogas and CNG models for the city. "I will ensure that Indore is free of air and water pollution by next year," the minister said to the gathering of over 700.

 
As for the BJP government’s policies in the last five years, Lalwani brushes aside any talk of demonetisation’s impact on small and medium businesses. Needless to say, the Congress’s narrative contests that claim. Sanghvi says 2000 small and medium enterprises in Indore downed shutters post the note ban. “Around 1000 workers lost their employment. We will reverse this trend” says Sanghvi after a hectic day of campaigning.