PM Modi’s ‘Poll’ Vault to Cross 370: From Bengal to Tamil Nadu, Kerala to Maha, Mega Rallies, Events Planned Next Week

From southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to Maharashtra in the west, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a whirlwind tour across the country over next week. The PM is also scheduled to have at least two visits to the eastern state of Bengal.

TAMIL NADU & KERALA

During his two-day visit, PM Modi will first arrive in the capital city of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, on February 27. The visit will kick off with Modi’s tour of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, which will be followed by launch of several development projects. The prime minister will also be holding a mega public rally in the capital city.

Modi will also participate in the last and closing day of the yatra, undertaken by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Tamil Nadu president Annamalai. He is expected to address the gathering. He will also visit Madurai for a digital mobility event for the MSME sector.

On February 28, Modi will participate in government programmes, where he will place the foundation stone and inaugurate several development projects in Thuthhukodi (Tuticorin). This is the constituency of K Kanimozhi, daughter of K Karunanidhi and sister of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin.

MAHARASHTRA

On February 28 evening, PM Modi will arrive in Maharashtra. He is expected to inaugurate several development projects in Yavatmal. A public address by the Prime Minister is also on the cards.

WEST BENGAL

PM Modi is expected to visit West Bengal for two trips early next month. As per the schedule that has been released through BJP sources, Modi will hold government programmes and a public rally in Arambagh on March 1. On the following day, March 2, he will be in Krishna Nagar for programmes and public rally.

Interestingly, Krishna Nagar is the constituency from where Mahua Moitra won the election in 2019. She was recently stripped of her Lok Sabha membership, following complaints received against her for having shared her Lok Sabha login ID and password with businessman, Darshan Hiranandani.

The big focus on these visits will be his public rally which is scheduled to take place in Barasat on March 6. The state BJP has prepared to bring close to 2,00,00 women to attend this rally, which will take place in the same district as Sandeshkhali, where trouble has been mounting for the last couple of weeks. It is also being seen as a major face-off between the Trinamool Congress-led state government and the principal opposition BJP.

FOCUS ON 2024, TARGET OF 370

These visits, in the run-up to the big 2024 election, are extremely important.

This is Modi’s third visit to the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu this year. With big thrust on winning seats, so far, the BJP campaign has been unsuccessful in these two southern states. Of the 59 Lok Sabha seats, 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and 20 in Kerala, the saffron party does not have a single MP.

It has seen a dismal performance in other southern states too. Of the 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh, the BJP has failed to win a single one. In the neighbouring Telugu state of Telangana, of the 17 seats, the BJP was able to win 4 last time. The most successful campaign for the BJP has been in the state of Karnataka, which is one of the oldest organisation for the party. In the last election, the BJP secured 25 of the 29 seats. This time the BJP is an alliance with JDS.

The battle of Bengal has also been aggressive for the BJP. Branded as a party of outsiders, the BJP, which had just two seats in the 2014 elections, stunned many by securing 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. Currently, the party stands at a seat strength of 16. Two of the sitting MPs jumped back to the TMC. This included former union minister Babul Supriyo and Arjun Singh.

Much water has flown under the bridge since the last election, both in the Centre and the state assembly in Maharashtra. After having secured 17 seats each, both the BJP and Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray, had a bitter fallout, and the party joined hands with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress to form a coalition government. But another twist in the tale saw Eknath Shinde branch out of the Uddhav Thackeray faction along with 12 MPs and a majority of the MLAs to join the NDA government. With less than a year to go for the Lok Sabha elections, another party split in Maharashtra. This time around it was Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel, who led a rebellion against Sharad Pawar and their NCP also joined the NDA government.

With over 100 seats in the south, including 59 in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, 48 in Maharashtra and 42 in Bengal, the BJP is hoping that their biggest star campaigner and in whose name the party has been winning every election from Panchayat to Parliament, Modi can once again set the stage for them ahead of the announcement of the election dates. The prime minister had declared on the floor of the house in Lok Sabha that this time the BJP will secure 370 seats on its own and the NDA will have a strength of over 400 in the house.