Kolkata, Apr 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Cooch Behar district on Sunday to launch the BJP’s campaign for the West Bengal Assembly elections, a senior party leader said.
PM to address Bijoy Sankalpa Sabha in Cooch Behar
Modi is scheduled to address the BJP’s 'Bijoy Sankalpa Sabha' at the historic Ras Mela grounds in the afternoon, marking the start of the party’s intensified outreach in north Bengal, with the aim of consolidating grassroots support in a region that has become a saffron stronghold over the years and a critical electoral battlefield.
During the rally, the PM is expected to outline the party’s vision for a "developed West Bengal", highlight issues raised in the BJP’s recently released 'People’s Chargesheet' against the ruling TMC in the state, and focus on governance, law and order, and alleged corruption.
First rally after poll announcement
This will be Modi’s first election rally in the state, following the declaration of Assembly polls, and the fourth public meeting at the Ras Mela grounds, after his previous rallies at the same venue during his campaign for the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 Assembly polls.
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
Campaign to focus on ‘fear-free’ governance
The BJP leader said Modi’s address is likely to set the tone for the party’s campaign narrative, emphasising a "fear-free" environment and restoration of public trust in institutions.
“The Prime Minister’s visit is centred on transitioning West Bengal from an era of systemic ‘bhoy’ (fear) to a future of ‘bhorosa’ (trust). This rally serves as a definitive launchpad to replace the ‘chronicle of betrayal’ with a commitment to security and growth,” a BJP statement said.
While “dismantling the rule of fear” will be articulated in the PM’s vision for a fear-free state, the “pledge for trust” will be reinforced in “Modi’s guarantee to end syndicate raj and cut-money culture”, it said.
“Beyond political victory, the Bijoy Sankalpa Sabha seeks to restore the cultural glory of Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore’s West Bengal, pledging an end to state-sponsored lawlessness,” the statement said.
BJP plans series of rallies and outreach programmes
The April 5 rally will be followed by a series of public meetings, roadshows and organisational programmes by senior BJP leaders across the state ahead of the polls, another party leader said, emphasising its plans for the final push for a decisive mandate in Bengal.
Modi had last visited the state on March 14 to address a rally at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, and inaugurate development projects worth around Rs 18,680 crore, marking the culmination of the party’s ‘Poriborton Yatra’.
North Bengal remains key electoral battleground
BJP’s added focus in north Bengal bore fruit in the 2021 Assembly elections, when the party won 30 of the 54 seats in the region, with Cooch Behar contributing seven of the nine seats from the district. The TMC wrested the Dinhata segment later in a bypoll, after BJP’s Nisith Pramanik moved to Delhi to take charge as junior Union minister.
The saffron party lost the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha segment in 2024, but won six of the eight parliamentary seats in north Bengal that year.
Also Watch:
According to observers, BJP’s renewed political focus on Cooch Behar has been propelled by keeping in forefront development schemes like the Rs 1,010-crore city gas distribution project covering the district and adjacent Alipurduar, whose foundation stone was laid by Modi last year.
(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
