As the assembly elections are round the corner, all the major political parties have swung into action making last effort to woo the voters. Campaigning in four states and one Union Territory is heating up with each passing day.
While on one hand Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee released poll manifesto on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the other hand is set to address rallies in poll-bound West Bengal and Assam today.
A day before addressing rallies, PM Modi, who is BJP’s star campaigner, reiterated that there is a desire for a change in Bengal. Taking to his official Twitter account, the Prime Minister in a tweet said, "Glad to be getting the opportunity to be among my sisters and brothers of West Bengal tomorrow, 18th March. I would be addressing a rally in Purulia. Across West Bengal, there is a desire for change. BJP's agenda of good governance is striking a chord among the people."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Glad to be getting the opportunity to be among my sisters and brothers of West Bengal tomorrow, 18th March. I would be addressing a rally in Purulia. Across West Bengal, there is a desire for change. BJP’s agenda of good governance is striking a chord among the people.</p>— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/india/west-bengal-elections-2021-bjp-will-hit-a-six-like-sourav-ganguly-says-rajnath-singh-1448746">March 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On an earlier visit to Bengal ahead of the assembly elections, PM Modi had said the state was ready for ‘poribortan’ (development) now. Launching attacks on Mamata-led government, PM Modi had alleged it has perpetuated “syndicate raj” in all spheres of life in West Bengal where no work gets done without common people having to pay “cut money”.
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The Prime Minister will also hold a rally in Assam. Ahead of the visit, the Prime Minister noted that Assam has witnessed positive changes across various sectors over the last 5 years. "NDA seeks people's blessings to continue the development agenda."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Will be in Assam tomorrow, 18th March. Looking forward to being among the people of this great state during the rally in Karimganj. Assam has witnessed positive changes across various sectors over the last 5 years. NDA seeks people’s blessings to continue the development agenda.</p>— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a >March 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A day before leaving for rallies in eastern states, PM Modi attended a high-level Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party and finalised candidates for the first four phases of the West Bengal polls.
The CEC, in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda and other leaders, also finalised almost all candidates for polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Assam.
West Bengal election will be conducted in eight phases, with the first one set to begin on March 27. The Election Commission will be announcing the West Bengal Assembly Election results on May 2. In Assam, Assembly elections will be held in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6. Results will be declared on May 2.