That is the number of overseas trips Narendra Modi has made in a year, in his capacity as Prime Minister.
It surely cannot be the outcome of the fascination he might have had as a young tea-seller when he spotted the occasional ‘plane’ in the sky and dreamt of travelling in it one day.
18 trips at his age is not a joke! In fact, there have been Prime Ministers who made less than 18 trips during their entire tenure. Is it for publicity? Is he just fulfilling some long standing dream of his? Or is he caught up in euphoria at his status as PM and merely catering to his ego?
Modi’s actions are clearly part of a bigger game plan. Irreparable damage has been done to India’s image in the international community during the UPA regime. Modi is keen on using the first couple of years in office trying to bolster India’s image. After that, his think tank apparently wants him to devote his time exclusively to the domestic front.
If Modi engages with the Indian public during the last three years and gets controversial legislation like land acquisition bills etc out of the way as soon as possible, he would once again become the darling of the masses with policies catered to appeasing the people during the last phase of his regime.
