Modi in Bengal: A rally, a warning and Rs 18,680 crore worth of promises

Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept into poll-bound West Bengal on Saturday as part of a two-state tour, having earlier performed a Bhoomi Poojan and dedicated projects worth Rs 23,550 crore at Silchar in Assam before arriving in Kolkata to address a mammoth rally at the iconic Brigade Parade Ground and unveil development projects worth approximately Rs 18,680 crore.

Invoking the historic significance of the venue, Modi told a roaring crowd that public sentiment in the state is unmistakably shifting. Launching a frontal assault on the ruling Trinamool Congress, he accused the Mamata Banerjee government of encouraging infiltration, altering the state's demographic balance and insulting constitutional institutions, asserting that "the countdown has begun" for the TMC regime ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. He alleged the TMC opposed the Special Intensive Revision exercise to protect its "vote bank of infiltrators" , and charged that the state administration ran on the support of criminals, with extortion and cut money serving as its lifeblood.

The visit came amid significant political turbulence. Official data shows 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, were deleted following the SIR exercise, shrinking the voter base from 7.66 crore to 7.04 crore, with another 60.06 lakh electors placed under the "under adjudication" category. Clashes also broke out between TMC and BJP supporters near Girish Park, injuring several workers and a police officer, even as Modi addressed the rally.

The event marked the culmination of the BJP's 'Parivartan Yatra' , which criss-crossed nearly 5,000 km across 237 constituencies since March 1, being seen as the party's most expansive mobilisation since its 2019 Lok Sabha surge and subsequent 2021 assembly poll setback. The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule any day now, with elections likely in April 2026 before the current assembly’s term expires on May 7.

On the infrastructure front, Modi inaugurated highway projects spanning over 420 km, including the 66.7 km four-laning of the Barajaguli, Krishnanagar section of NH-34 and the 231 km Kharagpur, Moregram economic corridor on NH-116A, which will cut Kolkata, Siliguri travel time by two hours and pass through six districts. He also dedicated modernisation work at the Haldia Dock Complex, inaugurated six railway stations, Kamakhyaguri, Anara, Tamluk, Haldia, Barabhum and Siuri, under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, flagged off the Purulia, Anand Vihar Terminal Express, and dedicated a new third rail line between Belda and Dantan and an Automatic Block Signalling system between Kalaikunda and Kanimohuli. Governor R.N. Ravi, MoS Shantanu Thakur and Sukanta Majumdar were among those present.