West Bengal polls: PM Modi to address public rally in Kolkata today

Bollywood veteran Mithun Chakraborty is expected to attend the rally at the central Kolkata venue.

New Delhi: Ahead of West Bengal polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public rally at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on Sunday.

This will be PM Modi’s first public rally in the state after the announcement of the dates for eight-phased Assembly polls for 294 constituencies in West Bengal. According to party sources, many folk artists have been invited to perform at the event.

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Bollywood veteran Mithun Chakraborty is expected to attend the rally at the central Kolkata venue. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya met Chakraborty in Kolkata on Saturday amid speculations that he may be joining PM Modi’s Brigade rally in Kolkata.

On speculations of the actor joining the BJP, Vijayvargiya had earlier said, “I have spoken with him (Mithun Chakraborty) over the telephone, he’s going to come today. I will be able to make a comment only after a detailed discussion with him.”

The public rally will be held a day after BJP announced its first list of 57 candidates for the polls and two days after incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC) announced the list of 291 candidates and left three seats for its ally Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

BJP functionaries including Kailash Vijayvargiya, national General Secretary, Mukul Roy national Vice-President, Sanjay Singh, General Secretary and Swapan Dasgupta, MP, Rajya Sabha are looking into the preparations at Brigade Parade Ground, Kolkata where PM Modi will address a public meeting today.

After winning 3 seats in the 2016 Assembly election in West Bengal, the BJP made deep inroads in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections winning 18 seats and reducing TMC’s tally to 22. Out of the total 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal, Congress won two seats, the Left drew a blank.

According to sources, Prime Minister Modi will address 20 rallies in poll-bound West Bengal responding to the huge demand of local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of the state.

The rallies will cover all the 23 districts of West Bengal.

West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes in the state will take place on May 2.