Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit poll-bound Assam on Sunday, his second visit to the northeastern state in a fortnight and address public gatherings at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district, state Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Political circles are saying that the Prime Minister’s second visit to Assam twice in a fortnight is ostensibly meant to undertake an Assembly election campaign for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Sarma said that from Dhekiajuli, Modi would lay the foundation for two medical colleges in Biswanath Chariali and Charaideo and launch the ‘Assam Mala’ project to upgrade the state highways.

Talking to the media, Sarma said that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would also visit Guwahati on Saturday to launch the distribution of financial assistance of Rs 3,000 to each of around eight lakh tea garden workers in the state. Under the ‘Assam Mala’ scheme, the state Public Works Department would upgrade 2,500 km state highways at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore in 15 years.