Poll dates could come in March 1st week: PM

GUWAHATI/KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday indicated that the election schedule to assemblies of four states and a Union Territory — Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry — could be announced in the first week of March.

“I know you all are waiting for the election. Since the schedule for the last assembly polls in these states was announced in March 4 (in 2016), it seems the Election Commission of India (EC) will announce the poll announcement anytime in the first week of March,” he said at a public meeting in Assam’s Dhemaji.

“My effort will be to visit Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as many times as possible before the schedule is announced by EC,” he added.

In his third visit to the pollbound state within a month, Modi launched several oil and gas projects, inaugurated an engineering college and laid the foundation stone of another.

“Despite immense potential, previous governments gave the North Bank of Brahmaputra (in Assam) a step-motherly treatment. Connectivity, hospitals, educational institutions or industry was not a concern of these earlier governments,” said Modi in a public meeting at Silapathar.

“Such bias was removed with coming of the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government led by Sarbananda Sonowal. Work on the Bogibeel bridge on Brahmaputra was speeded up and broad-gauge railway lines reached this area after our government came to power. Work on the second bridge at Kaliabhomora over Brahmaputra is going on at fast pace,” he added.

“Our governments at Centre and Assam have done more for development of the state in the past few years than what was done by previous governments