A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee both address electoral rallies in north Bengal, the PM today interacted with Bharatiya Janata Party karyakartas in West Bengal via the NaMo App and exhorted them to inform the people about Mamata Banerjee’s obstruction of Central Government welfare initiatives in Bengal. He urged karyakartas to bring out the non-implementation of these initiatives in the State and hold Mamata Banerjee accountable for the State’s conditions.
He underscored the necessity to blunt the Trinamool Congress accusation that the BJP Government had withheld funds for the poor electorate of Bengal. The Trinamool Congress has been running a high-decibel campaign about the Centre’s “step-motherly attitude towards the poor people of the State with regard to MGNREGA and Awas Yojana dues”.
He underlined the BJP’s “unwavering commitment” to effectively communicate its governance agenda across the State. PM Modi expressed admiration for the “resolute determination of BJP karyakartas in West Bengal, who persistently work amidst challenging circumstances and opposition from the ruling Trinamool Congress”. “Your steadfast dedication to public service amidst personal crises is commendable and contributes to the growing trust of the people in the BJP,” he told his party workers.
He urged the BJP karyakartas in West Bengal to continue to “serve the people courageously despite facing hostility, as it will increase trust and support”. Modi highlighted the karyakartas’ bravery in the face of Trinamool Congress attempts to disrupt through violence, praising their resilience and commitment to democracy.
PM Modi acknowledged that electoral violence was a challenge in West Bengal and assured stringent security measures by the Election Commission. At the same time, he also urged continuous vigilance. “All of you must reach out to every voter’s home and encourage them to vote fearlessly,” he emphasized.
During this session, PM Modi delved into insightful discussions with Karyakartas, addressing pivotal issues and seeking feedback on grassroots initiatives, said a senior party leader.
On April 4, both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress have lined up high-voltage election rallies by their biggest names – Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee.
The Chief Minister is trying to make inroads into North Bengal, which has supported the BJP in the last Lok Sabha elections.
Voting will be held in three seats of the region — Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar — in the first phase on April 19.
“It will be interesting to see how these two leaders try to sway the electorate their way,” said Soumen Nag, a social researcher based in Siliguri. “People will be curious to hear what they come up with,” he added.
The Prime Minister will speak in three public meetings, the other two in Jalpaiguri and Balurghat on April 7, in north Bengal.
Mamata, on the other hand, will address a dozen meetings across the region, and also attend a road show in Siliguri on April 16.
“From April 4 to April 16, she will campaign in north Bengal in three phases and will cover six of the eight Lok Sabha seats of the region where elections would be held in the first two phases,” said a senior bureaucrat.
She will be in Malda at the end of April, where elections in two seats (Malda north and south) will be held on May 7.
As the poll dates draw near, both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP are persistently focusing on north Bengal, a region where the saffron camp had won seven of eight seats in 2019. The Trinamool Congress could not win a single seat as the eighth seat – Malda South – went to the Congress.
Even in 2021, though the Trinamool Congress came to power with a resounding victory in the State, it lagged behind the BJP and secured 23 of the 54 Assembly seats in the region. The BJP secured 30 seats.
However, things started turning in the Trinamool Congress’s favour in 2022 as the party won all the civic bodies in this region. The party also performed well in the rural polls and won the Dhupguri Assembly by-poll last year.
“These results have come as a booster for the Trinamool Congress and have mounted pressure on the BJP. Thus, both camps are determined now. While the BJP is desperate to retain the seats, the Trinamool Congress wants to wrest the seats from the saffron party,” said an observer.
For the BJP, it is an important region as the party has fielded candidates like the State BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar from Balurghat, and Union Minister Nisith Pramanik and Raju Bista in Cooch Behar and Darjeeling respectively.
“Darjeeling is yet another seat which BJP doesn’t want to lose. It has been winning the seat since 2009,” the observer added.
Along with Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah will also be in north Bengal.
“He will address public meetings in Mainaguri on April 7 and Alipurduar on April 9. We are confident of retaining the seats and even securing the Malda South seat,” said a senior BJP functionary.