Cooch Behar braces for mega rallies by Modi, Mamata today

The Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal is set to witness a fiery campaign on Thursday, with consecutive rallies planned by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

While Ms. Banerjee is scheduled to speak at a rally in the constituency at noon, the PM will address a mega rally at the Rasleela ground at 3 p.m., with both venues being 30 km apart.

The constituency, recently marred by clashes between supporters of sitting BJP MP and Union Minister Nisith Pramanik and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Minister Udayan Guha, has now become a battleground of prestige, with both parties leaving no stone unturned to secure victory.

‘BJP will win again’

BJP State general secretary Jagannath Chattopadhyay said BJP was “assured a victory”.

“The people of Cooch Behar are firmly with the BJP, and this will be reflected in the poll results on June 4. The development initiatives undertaken by the BJP MP and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre will ensure a second consecutive term victory for the saffron party,” he said.

Renominated as a Lok Sabha candidate, the incumbent BJP MP, Mr. Pramanik, faces Jagadish Barma Basunia, the TMC’s candidate, as his primary opponent this time. Cooch Behar is currently a BJP stronghold, with the party having secured five of the seven Assembly segments in the 2021 State Assembly polls.

Meanwhile, the TMC asserted that the people of Cooch Behar yearn for relief from BJP’s gundaraj (hooligan rule).

“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 Udayan Guha, the North Bengal Development Minister.

The seat will go to polls on April 19 in the first phase of the election.