In a concerted effort to gather support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on his second visit to West Bengal this month. Scheduled for today, PM Modi’s itinerary includes four rallies across key constituencies in the state, aiming to bolster the BJP’s electoral prospects.
Beginning his campaign blitz, PM Modi is set to address a public gathering in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas district, at 11:30 am, extending his support to BJP candidate Arjun Singh. Subsequently, he will engage with constituents in Hooghly at 1 pm, rallying in favor of BJP’s Locket Chatterjee. The campaign trail then leads PM Modi to Arambagh at 2:30 pm, where he will advocate for BJP candidate Arup Kumar. The Prime Minister’s itinerary concludes with a meeting in Howrah at 4 pm.
This series of rallies follows PM Modi’s earlier engagements on May 3, when he addressed gatherings in West Bengal’s Krishnanagar, Purba Bardhaman, and Bolpur Lok Sabha constituencies. The strategic timing of these rallies aligns with the looming fourth phase of voting in West Bengal, slated for May 13, encompassing eight crucial Lok Sabha seats, including Baharampur, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Bardhaman Purba, Burdwan-Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur, and Birbhum.
PM Modi’s presence in West Bengal underscores the BJP’s aggressive bid to wrestle electoral dominance from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). Asserting his electoral projections, PM Modi previously remarked that TMC’s victory prospects are dim, predicting they would secure fewer than 15 seats in the Lok Sabha.
“TMC isn’t even winning 15 seats in the country. Now tell me, can TMC form the government with just 15 seats?” PM Modi declared during a rally in Krishnanagar on May 3, questioning the feasibility of TMC’s governance with such limited parliamentary representation. He further cast doubt on the Congress party’s electoral prospects, suggesting it would struggle to secure more than 50 seats.
The upcoming elections carry significant implications for West Bengal’s political landscape. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, TMC clinched 34 seats, while BJP secured only two. However, BJP’s fortunes surged in the 2019 polls, securing 18 seats compared to TMC’s 22. The Congress tally plummeted to just two seats, while the Left registered no victories.
As PM Modi’s campaign machinery shifts into high gear, the political dynamics in West Bengal are poised for a seismic shift, with the BJP intensifying its efforts to consolidate its foothold in the state ahead of the crucial electoral showdown.
