Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made two campaign trips to this UT, and his battle commander, Union home minister Amit Shah, has lent his thundering rhetoric to the canvassing here. In order to win over voters and do away with their Congress obsession, the BJP has promised milk and honey, while telling the electorate that the party of the Gandhi’s is a gone thing.

At his February 25 rally in Puducherry, PM Modi pronounced “in brief” his vision for the UT. “I would say I want Puducherry to be the best; the NDA wants to make Puducherry the best. ‘B’ for business hub, ‘E’ for education hub, ‘S’ for spiritual hub and ‘T’ for tourism hub.” The seaside former French colony is a destination for spiritual pursuit and tourism.