PM’s visits and remaking of regional priorities in Northeast

Bagmita Borthakur

(PhD Research Scholar, BITS Pilani) &

Bishaldeep Kakati

(Advocate, Gauhati High Court)

In his recent visit to Assam to attend the Bagurumba Dhwou 2026 cultural programme, Prime Minister Modi remarked that no other Indian prime minister has visited the state as frequently as he has, suggesting an intention to overcome the historical alienation of the Northeast from the national mainstream. Past leaders have often faced criticism for neglecting the region, but the opposition persists in questioning whether such high visibility has yielded meaningful outcomes. This necessitates a critical examination of whether the Prime Minister’s repeated visits reflect a deeper transformation in the region’s political and developmental trajectory.

Over the past decade, the Northeast has witnessed a scale and consistency of state-led intervention that marks a departure from earlier, episodic patterns of development. Investments in roads, railways, airports, industrial facilities, and public institutions have expanded across the region, not only in volume but also in political priority. Within this process, Assam has emerged as the infrastructural anchor and economic gateway through which regional integration is increasingly organized.

This shift is most clearly visible in connectivity infrastructure. The continuation of SARDP-NE projects after 2014-15 led to the upgradation of key highway corridors in Assam, particularly NH-37, NH-38, NH-39, and NH-44, thereby strengthening surface connectivity to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur. Implementation responsibilities were transferred to the newly established NHIDCL in 2014, with the stated aim of accelerating execution in difficult terrain and border regions. More recently, the Bhoomi Pujan for the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor in January 2026, involving over Rs 6,950 crore for the four-laning of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of NH-715, reflects the continued prioritization of Assam’s arterial corridors.

Rail infrastructure reflects a similar pattern. The Bogibeel railway bridge, inaugurated in December 2018, received heightened financial priority well before its completion, with annual outlays substantially increasing from 2014 onward. Its significance extends beyond civilian connectivity between Dhemaji and Dibrugarh to its strategic utility for defence logistics and freight movement. The Lumding-Silchar broad gauge conversion, operational for goods traffic from March 2015, ended the Barak Valley’s prolonged isolation from the national rail network. More recently, the introduction of the Vande Bharat Sleeper between Howrah and Guwahati in January 2026 has further reinforced Guwahati’s position as the region’s primary mobility hub.

While infrastructure expansion extends beyond Assam, it often converges through it. The inauguration of the Bairabi-Sairang railway line in September 2025, connecting Mizoram to the national network for the first time, represents a historic milestone for that state. Similarly, airports developed under UDAN, including Rupsi in Assam and Donyi Polo Airport in Itanagar, have strengthened regional air connectivity, increasingly centering on Guwahati as the principal node.

Many of these projects also exhibit a dual civilian–strategic character. Bridges such as the Dhola–Sadiya and Bogibeel have been repeatedly framed in official discourse as critical for defense mobility while simultaneously enabling civilian movement and commerce. Assam’s logistical centrality for road and rail access in Arunachal Pradesh and neighboring states, therefore, situates infrastructure not merely as a developmental input but as an instrument of territorial consolidation and state capacity in a sensitive geopolitical landscape.

The announcement of PM-DevINE in 2022, the expansion of UDAN, the post-2022 capital expenditure push, and the strengthened role of NHIDCL together indicate the institutionalization of Northeast-focused intervention. In Assam, PM-DevINE allocations such as Rs 132.86 crore for upgrading schools in Kamrup and Rs 129 crore for a specialized cancer care facility in Guwahati illustrate how this approach extends beyond connectivity into social sectors. These initiatives are better understood not as isolated welfare measures but as components of a broader policy architecture aimed at sustaining state presence and service delivery.

Social infrastructure has similarly become integral to this strategy. The approval of AIIMS at Changsari at a cost of Rs 1,123 crore represents one of the largest public health investments in the state. Subsequent administrative milestones demonstrate the project’s continued prioritization. Alongside this, investments in educational institutions, hostels, healthcare facilities and urban infrastructure across the region have increased the everyday visibility of development. While these contribute to welfare outcomes, they also reinforce political narratives of inclusion within national priorities.

Economic and industrial projects further signal Assam’s repositioning. Districts such as Darrang and Golaghat inaugurated or announced projects worth approximately Rs 18,530 crore in September 2025. At Numaligarh Refinery, the bio-ethanol plant and the polypropylene project indicate efforts to integrate Assam into emerging energy and petrochemical value chains. Parallel initiatives in hydropower in Arunachal Pradesh and IT infrastructure in Manipur suggest a broader attempt to reframe the Northeast as an economic hub under the ‘Ashtalakshmi’ narrative.

Insurgency has long constrained development in the region, and security policy has remained central to governance priorities. Official data from the Ministry of Home Affairs indicates substantial declines in insurgency-related incidents, civilian deaths, and security force casualties between 2014 and 2021, alongside large-scale surrenders. This relative stabilization has enabled the execution of large infrastructure projects in areas previously considered difficult, aligning security, development, and governance more closely than in earlier decades.

Between 2014 and 2026, the Prime Minister is estimated to have visited the Northeast approximately 65-70 times, largely for inaugurations, foundation-laying ceremonies and project reviews. While critics have dismissed these visits as symbolic or rhetorical, their political significance lies in how they have reshaped public narratives by consistently signalling that the region occupies a central place in national priorities. In a context where perceptions of neglect have historically shaped political consciousness in the Northeast, this sustained visibility cannot be dismissed as merely performative. Rather, the frequency of these visits has coincided with a period of intensified state intervention across infrastructure, institutions and governance, suggesting that they function as both political signalling mechanisms and as markers of a broader strategic reorientation towards the region.