Ahead of the summer’s parliamentary elections Prime Minister Narendra Modi will, just as he did in 2019, travel around the country, inaugurating or launching infrastructure projects, and speaking about his government’s development and welfare record, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

It may be premature to draw any conclusions from this, but, if the PM’s speech in the Lok Sabha on Monday and his comments during his visit to Goa on Tuesday are any indication, governance could well get precedence over the Ram Temple in the party’s election campaign.

Also read: Why is PM Modi’s two-day Assam visit crucial for Northeast?

The PM’s travels actually began over the weekend, with Odisha and Assam, and he will be travelling for at least 15 days this month, including a visit to the UAE from which much is expected, the people cited in the first instance said, adding that most of Modi’s speeches will emphasise his government’s record.

“The focus is very clear– the Prime Minister will travel across the country to oversee the completion of several infra projects. So, his messaging is going to focus on his government’s development work in the last 10 years,’’ said one of the people, a senior official involved in planning the events. While January saw the Prime Minister focusing on the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, his speech in Parliament on Monday had no reference of the temple. His two speeches in Goa again focused on the work done by his government, highlighting projects like the housing scheme and empowerment of women.

Even when the PM mentioned temples in Assam, it was without any direct reference to Ayodhya. Speaking while laying the foundation stone of some projects, Modi said, “Our pilgrimage sites, our temples, the places of our faith, are not just places to visit; they are the infinite landmarks of our civilization for thousands of years. These are witness to Bharat’s resilience in facing every crisis. We have seen civilizations that were once very prosperous, now reduced to ruins. Unfortunately, those who ruled the country for a long time after independence also failed to understand the importance of these sacred places of faith. They set a trend of being ashamed of their own culture, their own past, for political gains. No country can ever develop by erasing, forgetting its past, or cutting off its roots. I am satisfied that situations have changed in Bharat in the past 10 years. The double-engine government of the BJP has made ‘Vikas’ (development) and ‘Virasat’ (heritage) part of its policy.’’

While the official line is that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) doesn’t need the Ram Temple to win elections, party insiders HT spoke to said that there was a feeling that it would not attract new voters. Several BJP strategists have advised the senior leadership that while the Ram Temple’s completion and the delivery of the party’s core promise is a major achievement, it doesn’t speak as much to fence sitters or those who aren’t traditional BJP voters.

And so, they added, when the Prime Minister launches several projects this month including five new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and one Indian Institute of Management , he is expected to talk more about his guarantees, his government’s welfare schemes and what his vision for India for 2047 is. As he said during his speech in the India Energy Week in Goa on Tuesday: “India is building modern infrastructure of the 21st century. We are working on Infrastructure Building Mission. In this financial year we are investing about ₹10 lakh crore on infrastructure.’’

In addition to travelling, the PM will also inaugurate projects virtually through 15 video conference sessions, HT has learnt.