Jalandhar, July 17 -- Visiting Jalandhar for the second time in six months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of rail and road infrastructure projects worth Rs.5,470 crore on Friday. Including the inauguration of the newly renovated 100-year-old British-era Jalandhar Cantonment railway station, Modi's visit is seen as Bharatiya Janta Party's political outreach while setting the tone for the crucial 2027 state assembly elections. The visit, which also features a public gathering of BJP workers and supporters, holds political significance as the party prepares to contest the Punjab elections independently. From the Jalandhar Cantonment station, the Prime Minister will inaugurate 75 redeveloped railway stations across the country under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Built at a cost of approximately Rs.1,570 crore, these modern facilities incorporate local culture, heritage, and architecture under the theme "Virasat Bhi, Vikas Bhi". Four of these redeveloped stations are in Punjab: Jalandhar Cantonment, Mohali, Muktsar and Anandpur Sahib. The Prime Minister will also flag off two new train services: The Kartoli-Ambala service, improving connectivity across Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, and the high-speed Chheharta (Amritsar)-Varanasi Sant Ravidas Express, fulfilling a long-pending demand of the Ravidassia community for a direct train ahead of Guru Ravidas' 650th Parkash Purab celebrations at his birthplace, Seer Govardhanpur in Varanasi. Additionally, Modi will inaugurate the new Daulatpur Chowk-Kartoli rail line. Constructed at a cost of Rs.830 crore as part of the Nangal Dam-Talwara-Mukerian project, it will boost connectivity between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, specifically benefiting Hoshiarpur and Una districts. High security measures have been put in place in and around the venue, with police force from nearly 10 districts reaching Jalandhar for further reinforcement. Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, along with senior officials, reviewed security arrangements at the Jalandhar Cantonment railway station on Thursday. On February 1, Modi visited Dera Sachkhand Ballan, an influential centre of the Ravidassia community, a key Dalit group in the state, to attend Guru Ravidas's 649th birthday anniversary celebrations. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday issued a formal appeal to the PM to announce the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor during his visit to Jalandhar and Chandigarh on Friday. The decision was taken during a meeting of the party's core committee, chaired by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. The Kartarpur Corridor was indefinitely suspended on May 7, 2025, by Indian authorities due to escalating security concerns and border tensions. The closure came following the Indian armed forces' Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Alongside the corridor reopening, the Akali leadership demanded the resumption of Indo-Pak trade through the Wagah border and pressed the Centre to legally guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for farmers....