West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to speak at a rally in Cooch Behar around noon, while PM Modi will address a mega rally at Rasleela ground around 3pm, the venues are 30 km apart.
It is an action-packed day for West Bengal as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his rival, state chief minister and ruling party Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, are holding parallel rallies in Cooch Behar in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
PM Modi's Cooch Behar visit marked his first rally in West Bengal since the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.
Mamata Banerjee spoke at a rally in Cooch Behar around noon, at a venues 30 km away from where PM Modi addressed his rally. In her address, Mamata Banerjee said one could trust snake but not the BJP and used the word 'sala', which sparked strong reactions from the Saffron party.
Before the Election Commission's poll schedule announcement, PM Modi addressed four rallies in West Bengal, the first at Arambagh in Hooghly district, the second at Krishnanagar in Nadia district, the third at Barasat in North 24 Parganas, and the fourth one at Siliguri in Darjeeling district from March 1 to 9.
Addressing his rally in West Bengal's Cooch Behar on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his tough decisions ensured that the country is free of corruption and terrorism.
His remarks came a little after Mamata Banerjee addressed her rally in the same town and alleged that central investigating agencies, the NIA, Income Tax, BSF and CISF are working for the BJP.
PM Modi also "thanked" Mamata Banerjee for not reducing the size of the ground by putting a stage in the middle something that the PM said she did in 2019.
"Only BJP can stop atrocities on women in West Bengal," PM Modi said at the Cooch Behar rally.
I first want to thank West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee because in 2019, I was here to address a rally on the same ground, she installed a big stage in the middle of this ground to reduce the space (for rally), so that people could not listen to Modi, Back then I had told here - 'Didi, you didn't do the right thing. People will give an answer this.' And you gave a reply (to her). But today, she didn't do any such thing," PM Modi said.
Mamata Banerjee was slammed on Thursday for using "foul language" while referring to PM Modi in her speech in Cooch Behar. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, in her speech, was hitting out at "PM Modi pictures" and "BJP's logo" being used on everything", when she uses the word 'sala' and says she would rather die of hunger.
The speech sparked reactions by BJP leaders and supporters on social media. "Listen to the language the state's Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, is using about the Prime Minister. Is it acceptable for the Chief Minister, who has taken the oath of the Constitution, to use such words? She is not just disrespecting herself but also sullying the honor of all Bengalis. #ShameOnMamata,"BJP West Bengal said on X.
"Strongly condemn Mamata Banerjee's use of abusive language, including the derogatory term 'sala,' towards PM Modi. Such language has no place in our political discourse. Urging the Election Commission to take swift action to maintain the dignity of our democratic process," BJP Mahil Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan said.
At her rally in Cooch Behar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the BJP of not following the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the Lok Sabha polls and asserted that a poisonous snake can be trusted but not the saffron camp.
Mamata Banerjee alleged that the central investigating agencies, Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) are working at the behest of the BJP and urged the Election Commission to look into it and ensure a level playing field for all political parties.
"The BJP is asking you to enrol names for Awas Yojna again. Why will the names be enrolled again? They want further enrolment so that they can chuck it off. You can trust a poisonous snake; you can even pet it, but you can never trust the BJP... The BJP is destroying the country," she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address his rally at Rash Mela grounds of West Bengal's Cooch Behar at around 3.30 pm on Thursday. This is his first public meeting in the eastern state since the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.
“I look forward to being among the people of Cooch Behar to address a @BJP4Bengal rally later today at around 3:30 PM. The people there have been greatly supportive of our development agenda and I am confident they will again place their faith in the BJP,” the PM said in a post on X.
West Bengal CM and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to speak at her rally in Cooch Behar around noon. The venues of Mamata Banerjee’s public meeting and the PM Modi's rally are about 30 km apart.
BJP leader Rahul Sinha said that when there is a big meeting going on, there shouldn't be any meeting taking place simultaneously, adding that "Mamata Banerjee has forgotten all the values and discipline due to fear of losing."
Heavy Security In Cooch Behar: The West Bengal Police has placed a multi-tier security cover at the venues and their surroundings ahead of two mega rallies in the district.
The Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency recently witnessed clashes between supporters of sitting BJP MP and Union minister Nisith Pramanik and TMC leader Udayan Guha, making it a battleground of prestige with both parties leaving no stone unturned to secure victory.
Renominated as a Lok Sabha candidate, BJP's Pramanik faces Jagadish Barma Basunia, the TMC's nominee representing the Rajbanshi community and the sitting MLA of Sitai, as his primary opponent this time.
"Prime Minister is coming to campaign for the first phase and his campaign is going to start from Cooch Behar. The PM will be coming after a long time. The people have been waiting for this and their coming true and everyone is happy. It is a festive atmosphere in Cooch Behar...," Nisith Pramanik told news agency ANI on Tuesday.
Cooch Behar, once considered a bastion of Left Front partner Forward Bloc which held the seat for an uninterrupted 32 years from 1977 to 2009, currently remains a BJP stronghold, with the party securing five of the seven assembly segments despite TMC's significant victory in the 2021 state polls.
The TMC, however, asserts that the people of Cooch Behar yearn for relief from the "Goondaraj" (rule of hooligans) of the BJP.
"The people of Cooch Behar are wary of the BJP and its elected representatives. This sentiment will be evident in the polls, and we are confident of winning the seat with a substantial margin," said TMC leader Udayan Guha, who also is the North Bengal Development Minister.
The TMC had previously won the seat in 2014 and 2016 during a by-election following the demise of incumbent MP Renuka Sinha.
The seat will go to polls on April 19 in the first phase.