Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to West Bengal ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections where he will lay the foundation stone for and inaugurate several development projects in Arambagh and Krishna Nagar.
Taking his ‘Vikas’ push to another level in the eastern state, where the BJP is locked in a bitter battle with the ruling TMC, the prime minister is expected to deliver a number of crucial messages.
For the BJP, the narrative in Bengal will be the atrocities committed on women in Sandeshkhali. Following weeks of relentless pursuit, Shahjahan Sheikh, the main culprit in the case and a local TMC leader, was arrested on Thursday.
While the TMC has taken a high moral ground after the arrest, BJP said the action was too little and too late.
In the backdrop of the Sandeshkhali developments, the timing of PM Modi’s visit assumes significance. The prime minister is expected to attack chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her misrule. His principal line of attack will be that Banerjee, despite being a woman leader, could not ensure the safety of women in her own state.
The BJP has also been attacking TMC for its dynastic politics and corruption — including a scam involving Shahjahan. PM Modi will also talk about democracy being in danger in Bengal, with public not being allowed to vote, like it was recently witnessed in the panchayat elections. He will contrast it with the benefits of double-engine growth and how BJP-ruled states have ease of living and ease of doing business.
The prime minister is also expected to highlight the initiatives taken by the Centre for the cause of women, driving home the point that none of these benefits are available to Bengal’s women because of the state government’s politics.
After Shahjahan’s arrest, the TMC leadership has been questioning the Centre over their failure to act against several other leaders who are in the BJP fold right now. However, the fact that TMC’s action against the accused came only after the BJP leadership relentlessly pursued the cases of violence against women and land grabbing has put Trinamool on the back foot.
PM Modi’s rally in Barasat in 24 Parganas is expected to host more than two lakh women, including some victims of Sandeshkhali violence.
While the BJP and TMC were locked in a bitter battle in the 2021 assembly polls, the one factor that worked in Banerjee’s support was the faith women voters had in her. In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, this is the vote bank that the BJP is eyeing. Women have the potential to change any election result, as has been witnessed in the assembly polls of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Armed with Modi magic, the saffron party is hoping to write a new and successful chapter in its history in the eastern state of Bengal. From a party that had just two Lok Sabha seats in 2014 to 18 seats in the 2019 elections, the BJP is hopeful that the tally will only improve in the 2024 elections.
Development in Arambagh
In Arambagh, Hooghly, the prime minister will lay the foundation stone for and dedicate to the nation multiple developmental projects related to sectors like rail, ports, oil pipeline, LPG supply and wastewater treatment.
He will inaugurate Indian Oil’s 518-km Haldia-Barauni Crude Oil Pipeline developed at a cost of about Rs 2,790 crore. This pipeline passes through Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The pipeline will supply crude oil to Barauni Refinery, Bongaigaon Refinery and Guwahati Refinery in a safe, cost-efficient, and environment-friendly manner.
PM Modi will also dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple projects for strengthening of infrastructure at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, worth about Rs 1,000 crore. The projects whose foundation stone will be laid include reconstruction of Berth No. 8 NSD and mechanisation of berth no. 7 & 8 NSD of Kolkata Dock System.
He will dedicate to the nation the project for augmentation of the firefighting system at oil jetties of Haldia Dock Complex, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. The newly installed fire-fighting facility is a state-of-the-art fully automated set-up equipped with cutting edge gas and flame sensors, ensuring immediate hazard detection. The prime minister will dedicate the third Rail Mounted Quay Crane (RMQC) of Haldia Dock Complex with lifting capacity of 40 Tonnes. These new projects at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, will boost the productivity of the port substantially by helping in faster and safer cargo handling and evacuation.
Important rail projects worth about Rs 2,680 crore will also be dedicated to the nation. The projects include the third rail line connecting Jhargram-Salgajhari (90 Kms); doubling of Sondalia-Champapukur rail line (24 Kms); and doubling of Dankuni-Bhattanagar-Baltikuri rail line (9 Kms). These projects will expand the rail transport facilities in the region, improve mobility and facilitate seamless service of freight traffic leading to economic and industrial growth in the region.
The prime minister will inaugurate Indian Oil’s LPG Bottling plant with a capacity of 120 TMTPA at Vidyasagar Industrial Park, Kharagpur. Developed at a cost of more than Rs 200 crore, the LPG bottling plant will be the first in the region. It will supply LPG to about 14.5 lakh customers in West Bengal.
He will also inaugurate three projects related to wastewater treatment and sewerage in West Bengal developed at a cost of about Rs 600 crore and funded by the World Bank.
PM at Krishnanagar, West Bengal
In Krishnanagar, PM Modi will inaugurate, dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of several development projects related to sectors like power, rail and road.
Strengthening the power sector in the country, the prime minister will lay the foundation stone of Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station Phase II (2×660 MW) in Purulia district. This coal-based thermal power project of the Damodar Valley Corporation employs highly-efficient super critical technology.
He will inaugurate the Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system of Unit 7 & 8 of Mejia Thermal Power Station. Developed at a cost of about Rs 650 crore, the FGD system will remove sulphur dioxide from flue gases and produce clean flue gas and forming gypsum, which can be used in cement industry.
The prime minister will also inaugurate the road project for four laning of Farakka-Raiganj Section of NH-12 (100 Km). Developed at a cost of about Rs 1,986 crore, the project will reduce traffic congestion, improve connectivity and contribute to socio economic development of North Bengal and Northeast region.
Four rail projects worth more than Rs 940 crore, including project for doubling of Damodar-Mohishila rail line; third line between Rampurhat and Murarai; doubling of Bazarsau-Azimganj rail line; and new line connecting Azimganj-Murshidabad will also get the green signal.