Mysuru, February 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday will flag off the Palace Queen Humsafar Express between Mysuru and Udaipur at 2.30 PM from Mysuru Railway Station today. He will also inaugurate the electrification of the railway line between Mysuru and KSR Bengaluru. With the addition of the new train, Railways will be able to achieve energy-efficient transport and will open up new vistas in tourism.

The Palace Queen Humsafar Express Train will run via Mandya, Bengaluru, Davangere, Hubballi, Belagavi, Pune, Kalyan, Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam, Chittorgarh and pass through five states, i.e., Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

It must be noted that the electrification of the railway line between Mysuru and KSR Bengaluru costs Rs 220 Crores. It covers four major districts in Karnataka- Bengaluru, Ramanagaram, Mandya and Mysuru. The electrification will benefit around 25,000 passengers daily including 6000 commuters.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to address his first election rally in Mysuru which is about 125km from Bengaluru. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been unsuccessful to get a stronghold over Mysuru- which is a Congress bastion.

The BJP is trying hard to make inroads into south Karnataka. Elections to Karnataka assembly will likely take place in April. The last election in Karnataka for its state legislative assembly was held on May 5, 2013. At Present, the Chief Minister of Karnataka is Siddaramaiah, who is a candidate of Indian National Congress.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to visit the Mahamastakabhisheka of Lord Gomateshwara in Shravanabelagola (Hassan district). Karnataka is faced with a problem of lopsided economic development.  Corruption, power crisis, water scarcity and unemployment are other issues that affect the life of people in Karnataka. Modi’s rally in the city comes a week after Congress president Rahul Gandhi toured six districts of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.  Karnataka has been a politically active state since its inception. It has 28 parliamentary constituencies and there are several political parties which lead in the state.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 19, 2018 01:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).