Lok Sabha Election 2024: PM Modi to Address Rally Today in Bengal's Cooch Behar

Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to speak at a rally in the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal today, marking his first public appearance in the eastern state since the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections. Modi is expected to take the stage at the Rash Mela grounds around 3:30 pm.

"I am eager to join the people of Cooch Behar to address a @BJP4Bengal rally later today at around 3:30 PM. The residents there have shown tremendous support for our development agenda, and I am confident they will once again place their trust in the BJP," the PM stated in a post on X.

The Cooch Behar constituency is bracing for an intense Lok Sabha campaign today, with consecutive rallies planned by Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee is scheduled to address a rally in Cooch Behar around noon. The locations of Banerjee’s public meeting and the PM’s rally are approximately 30 km apart.

In anticipation of the two major rallies in the district, the West Bengal Police have implemented a multi-tier security cover at the venue and its surroundings.

The Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency, which recently saw clashes between supporters of incumbent BJP MP and Union minister Nisith Pramanik and TMC leader Udayan Guha, has emerged as a high-stakes battleground, with both parties pulling out all the stops to clinch victory.

Pramanik, who has been renominated as a Lok Sabha candidate, is up against Jagadish Barma Basunia, the TMC's nominee representing the Rajbanshi community and the current MLA of Sitai, in this election.

Prior to the Election Commission's announcement, the PM had addressed four rallies in West Bengal – in Hooghly, Krishnanagar, Barasat, and Siliguri between March 1 and March 9.