Back in 2013 when the political atmosphere in India was heating up as a run-up to the 2014 General Elections, three friends wanted to know more about Gujarat’s chief minister Narendra Modi and the much talked about ‘Gujarat model of development’. So they took their bikes and in 7 days covered around 3,750 km across Gujarat, covering cities, towns and villages and witnessing concrete roads even in remote areas.
That was in 2013. Much has changed in the political landscape of India. That Gujarat chief minister is now the Prime Minister of India and is now looking at second innings in the upcoming elections. He came to power with a lot of promises. So now, with a year of elections, the three friends have decided to embark on a 15 state tour in the eastern and northeastern states of India to get the on ground report.
‘We have been tracking Modi through media and news reports, but we don’t really know what is happening on the ground. So we decided to go on a ‘governance tourism’. Every momentous milestone will have struggle behind it, we want to know the story behind such milestones achieved.’ said Ashutosh Muglikar, who is undertaking this trip with two of his friends.
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‘We want to check whether the electricity has reached, highways have been made, as per claims. Whether the roads are constructed, does it have potholes or are in good conditions or whether the road has not been constructed as per claims,’ said Muglikar.
On a lighter note, we asked about his dog, who makes frequent appearances on his Twitter updates, if he will also be joining him on his expedition. Muglikar laughed and said, ‘he doesn’t eat when I’m not around. So we will do video calls daily.’
Taking time off their professional lives and pitching in the money for the trip, with help of family and friends, the three friends, Ashutosh Muglikar, Maneesh Godbole and Chandrabhushan Joshi, will cover about 8,000 km in 15 days.