Calcutta, Oct. 7: Nano now, maybe others soon.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi will be in town on October 24 to woo local industry to his state.

He will be here to flag off a roadshow for Vibrant Gujarat-the Global Investors’ Summit on January 12-13 next year in Ahmedabad.

Modi will interact with industry captains here in a bid to promote his state. Some deals may be signed that day itself, observers said.

His job looks easy, now that he has bagged the Nano plant, beating industry-friendly states Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

If the Tatas have found a “home” in Gujarat, as Ratan Tata said today, many others may try to set up business there, observers said.

“All those who have been victims of politics here may consider Gujarat a lucrative option. If a big company like Tata Motors can think of relocating from Singur to Gujarat, many others will,” an industrialist said.

It is learnt that a number of city-based industrialists are queuing up for the meeting. Some have already got in touch with the Modi government.

A city-based industrialist, on condition of anonymity, said he had already received land in Gujarat for an agro-based industry. “We have been asked to prepare the documents for an agreement, which may be signed on October 24,” he said.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is arranging the meeting between Modi and the businessmen.

CII officials confirmed the meeting, saying it was a partner-organisation for the Vibrant Gujarat campaign. “We are inviting the local industry to the meeting. People are showing interest,” one CII official added.

At the joint news conference in Gandhinagar today, Tata did not say anything negative about Bengal, but his praise for the Gujarat government was a pointer to what the Left-ruled state lacked. “In Gujarat, things work and move,” he said, praising the fast decision-making that Modi showed to offer the land and a “slightly better” package than Bengal.

He thanked the Gujarat chief minister for allowing him to make Sanand “our home” so fast because “urgency was the need of the hour”.

The investor-friendly atmosphere in Gujarat played a crucial role in attracting Tata Motors, according to a source. “Land and people are two critical issues that worked in Gujarat’s favour. It is a state where least loss of mandays have been recorded. There is hardly any strike,” the Tata Motors source said.

Also, the ruling and Opposition parties have a common interest in industrialisation, he added.