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Modi kicks off eastern push of poll campaign
The PM first travelled to Jamui in Bihar on Thursday afternoon and then to Cooch Behar in northern West Bengal, underscoring his party’s focus on development
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched scathing broadsides at opposition parties in West Bengal and Bihar on Thursday, accusing them of corruption and stalling development as part of his eastern push that will be pivotal for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP)’s goal of sealing 370 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Bengal, with 42 Lok Sabha seats and Bihar, with 40, are two of the largest states to go to the polls over the next six weeks. In both states, the BJP -- in alliance in Bihar and alone in Bengal -- is locked in fierce battles with regional outfits such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led coalition in Bihar and the Trinamool Congress in Bengal.
The PM first travelled to Jamui in Bihar on Thursday afternoon and then to Cooch Behar in northern West Bengal, underscoring his party’s focus on development and stressing that a third term for the BJP would propel India’s economic progress. Both regions go to the polls in the first phase on April 19.
In Cooch Behar, Modi trained his guns on the state’s handling of the tensions in strife-torn Sandeshkhali, where local leaders of the ruling TMC are accused of sexually harassing and exploiting women.
“Strengthening the BJP is necessary for Bengal’s development. Only the BJP can stop atrocities on women. The nation has seen how the TMC government used its full power to shield the guilty at Sandeshkhali. The BJP has vowed to punish them. They will spend the rest of their lives in prison,” Modi said in his first rally in Bengal, India’s third-largest state in terms of Lok Sabha seats.
Modi was likely referring to the arrest of TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh, who is accused of sexual assault and land-grabbing, and was arrested after being on the run for 55 days last month.
“When you cast your votes on March 19, remember this is an election for India. Delhi cannot have a weak government. It needs a strong and stable government,” Modi said in Cooch Behar town, addressing thousands of supporters in the sharp summer heat.
The PM made a similar appeal in Jamui earlier in the day.
“This is the election for the future of the country and Bihar. This is the election to realise the dreams of Bihar. This is the election for a developed India and happy Bihar,” Modi said as he flagged off his campaign in Bihar.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance had performed exceedingly well in the two states in 2019. In Bihar, the NDA — comprising the BJP, the chief minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) — swept the state, winning 39 out of the 40 seats. This time, the NDA is facing a resurgent RJD, currently the largest party in the state assembly.
In neighbouring Bengal, the BJP posted its best-ever tally of 18 seats. If the NDA has to touch 400 seats and the BJP 370, repeating this performance in the two eastern states will be critical.
In his Cooch Behar address, Modi lashed out the TMC for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was passed in 2019 but came into effect last month.
“The TMC is spreading rumours to mislead people. It is Modi’s guarantee that CAA will grant people citizenship,” he said.
“It is time to fulfil the dreams of Maharaja Naranarayan, brave warrior Chila Ray and Thakur Panchanan Barma,” Modi said, paying tributes to the three icons of the Koch Rajbanshi community, which has a sizeable presence in the Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar Lok Sabha constituencies.
The state will vote in all seven phases of the general elections between April 19 and June 1.
West Bengal chief minister and TMC founder Mamata Banerjee also addressed voters in Cooch Behar and the adjoining Jalpaiguri seat hours before Modi arrived.
She alleged that CAA would be followed by National Register of Citizens and the Uniform Civil Code if the BJP returns to power.
“They want to put people in detention camps, but we will not allow NRC in Bengal,” she told the crowd.
To be sure, the BJP already has a significant foothold in north Bengal. The BJP swept the region in 2019, winning seven of the region’s eight Lok Sabha seats.
The BJP continued this streak in north Bengal into the 2021 assembly elections as well, winning 30of the region’s 54Vidhan Sabha seats. These, however, were not enough to keep the TMC running away with 215 of the 294 constituencies in the West Bengal assembly, relegating the BJP to just 75.
In Jamui, Modi hit out at the RJD and Congress for allegedly keeping Bihar’s progress on the backburner.
“The Congress and the RJD had given the country such a bad name. The world used to think we are a weak and poor nation. Terrorists from small countries, which are struggling to maintain their supplies of wheat, used to strike at will. The Congress governments did little except seek the intervention of other powerful nations,” said the PM, joined on stage by Nitish Kumar. Kumar, who quit the Opposition grand alliance in the state and returned to the NDA for the second time in this current term.
Modi also sought to shore up support for Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas), or LJP-R, which is part of the NDA in Bihar and is contesting five seats.
“I miss the presence of my friend Ram Vilas Paswan who was here with us in the last elections. But, I am glad to see that my little brother Chirag is taking his mission forward,” he said.
Jamui, a constituency reserved for people from the Scheduled Castes, has been represented twice by Chirag Paswan, who has shifted base to late father Ram Vilas Paswan’s Hajipur, passing over the mantle to brother-in-law Arun Bharti.
Modi also accused the alliance of “opposing” the conferment of a Bharat Ratna to OBC stalwart Karpoori Thakur, the election of a Dalit president (President Ram Nath Kovind) and a “tribal woman” (President Droupadi Murmu).
