Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday promised “kayakalp” (complete transformation) of Mumbai while stressing that a favourable regime committed to development was needed even in the local bodies, addressing a rally in the city in the run-up to civic polls.

Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for a host of development projects for Mumbai and addressed a rally in the city for the first time after the BJP played an active role in pulling down the Uddhav Thackeray-led MahaVikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra by splitting theShiv Sena in June last year.

Modi’s visit to the city came in the run-up to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections and against the backdrop of a spirited campaign by the Uddhav camp of the Shiv Sena portraying the BJP as “anti-Mumbai” and“anti-Maharashtra”.

The campaign is believed to have struck a chord with local people, given recent allegations that the central government had diverted two big private investments from Maharashtra to Gujarat.

Modi sought to indirectly counter the “anti-Mumbai” charges, terming the city as “desh ki dhadkan” (the country’s heartbeat) and claiming that the “double-engine government” had fast-tracked infrastructure development projects.

“In the coming years, Mumbai will witness a complete transformation,” Modi said, claiming that big infrastructure development projects were under construction.

He said that in Mumbai’s development “the local bodies (the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) play a big role” and went on to stress the need for a pro-people regime.

Modi inaugurated two Metro lines on Thursday and also took a ride. He alleged that the Metro work in the state had slowed down during the previous government.