Modi sounds poll bugle in Bengal, Assam

PM hits out at TMC & Congress over the illegal immigrant issue; Opposition accuses him of neglecting other concerns in both states. Archis Mohan reports

- Archis Mohan

PM Narendra Modi at an event to lay the foundation stone of a ₹10,601-crore brownfield ammonia-urea plant in Namrup, along with Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal (left) and CM Himanta Biswa Sarma (right)

(PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday evening concluded a two-day visit to poll-bound West Bengal and Assam, where he launched infrastructure projects, interacted with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and addressed public meetings.

Modi's speeches in the two states were marked by claims that the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) were opposing the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise to protect “infiltrators” and “illegal immigrants”. He also accused the incumbent TMC of “unleashing lawlessness” in West Bengal.

Elections are due for the 294-member West Bengal and 126-member Assam legislative assemblies by April-May 2026.

In West Bengal, dense fog at Taherpur in Nadia, a district bordering Bangladesh, prevented Modi’s helicopter from landing at the makeshift helipad and forced him to return to the Kolkata airport, from where he addressed the crowd-in-waiting virtually on Saturday. In his speech, Modi accused the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government of corruption and nepotism. “The lanes and alleys of the state are resonating with the slogan ‘Banchte chai, BJP tai’ (Need BJP to live).”