Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold six more rallies in West Bengal, including in key seats such as Malda, Murshidabad, Kolkata South and Bolpur, before the assembly election campaign ends in the state, News18 has learnt.
Bolpur is the land known for Shantiniketan and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It could be the venue for the PM’s final rally in Bengal’s busy election season.
Modi will be in Asansol and Gangarampur for rallies on Saturday, while polling will take place that day in 45 constituencies for the fifth phase.
Next, the PM is expected in Malda and Murshidabad on April 22; both are Muslim-dominated districts where the Congress-Left-Indian Secular Front (ISF) alliance is in a triangular fight with the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP has given tickets to some Muslim candidates in both these districts. The PM’s message in rallies here, especially for the Muslim electorate, will be keenly watched. Earlier, a picture of a Muslim man speaking to Modi at a rally had attracted much attention on social media .
Modi is then expected to hold rallies in Kolkata South and Bolpur on April 24 for the seats in the eighth and last phase of the polls on April 29. Results will be out on May 2.
Kolkata South is a key urban seat. From here, the PM would like to reach out to urban voters across 11 seats in Kolkata district. This section has in the past voted for chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s party, but the BJP is keen to dent that TMC base.
Modi’s Bolpur event in the land associated with Tagore could be the finale of his mega campaign in Bengal, where the PM would have held over 20 rallies. The BJP has fielded Anirban Ganguly from Bolpur, keen to end the dominance of the TMC in Birbhum district.
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