After an intense late-night meeting that concluded at 3.30 am, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commenced his day with a strenuous itinerary. He was headed towards Sindhri in Jharkhand with the mission to resuscitate a dormant fertilizer plant, marking it as the third such revival following Gorakhpur and Ramagundam plants. The Prime Minister’s busy agenda includes attending an event at Sindhri at 11 am and then hurrying to Dhanbad for a public assembly at 12:30 pm. He will then proceed to Arambagh at 3 pm to lay the foundation stones and inaugurate a myriad of projects before addressing the public at 3:45 pm.
The Prime Minister chaired the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, which also saw prominent figures such as BJP National President JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, and various state representatives and chief ministers in attendance. The meeting’s focal point was to finalize the initial slate of candidates for the approaching Lok Sabha elections. Among the participants were party representatives from several states, including UP Deputy Chief Ministers Brajesh Pathak and KP Maurya. The party is poised to release a list of 100 candidates for the elections soon, with names like Modi and Shah expected to be on the list.
Prime Minister Modi is also set to engage in a series of engagements on Saturday, including laying stones and inaugurating several projects in Krishnagar and flagging off projects in Aurangabad and Begusarai. His role as the BJP’s prime campaign figure and central face in the Lok Sabha elections is undisputed.
In anticipation of Modi’s arrival in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) posed queries regarding MGNREGA beneficiaries and whether action would be taken against Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is entangled in CBI cases. The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, emphasized the scarcity of MGNREGA funds and declared that state dues will be cleared. They also questioned whether Adhikari would be suspended from the BJP or if his presence alongside the Prime Minister would imply a tolerance for corruption.
The Prime Minister’s visit to West Bengal includes a public event in Arambagh, Hooghly district, where he is to roll out development initiatives amounting to over Rs 7,200 crore. At this juncture, the West Bengal government has cast accusations at the Centre for hindering MGNREGA fund disbursement. Furthermore, the TMC has been vocal about the perceived neglect by the CBI in proceeding against Adhikari, who allegedly has connections to multiple cases, including the contentious Narada sting and the teachers’ recruitment scam in West Bengal.