Is Mamata Govt Stopping PM Modi's Proposed Rally in Bardhaman?

Purba Bardhaman: As the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are all set to lock horns in the upcoming elections on remaining Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, a new debate over TMC allegedly denying permission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Bardhaman on May 3 is erupting following allegations by the BJP.

BJP leader and Bardhaman-Durgapur candidate Dilip Ghosh has claimed that the West Bengal government has denied permission for the proposed public meeting to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 3 in Bardhaman.

Ghosh has said that the party will be "forced" to move court if they don’t get the permission for PM's rally.

"PM Modi will address a gathering on May 3 in Bardhaman. While searching for a suitable ground for their meeting, local BJP leaders have chosen two grounds. But permission is being deliberately not given for the meeting. We will be forced to go to court if permission is not given," Ghosh said.

The Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha constituency will vote on May 13 in the fourth phase of general elections.

West Bengal sends 42 members to the Lok Sabha, the third highest count in the country among all states. Uttar Pradesh sends maximum MPs (80) to the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra 48.

In the Bardhaman-Durgapur parliamentary constituency, BJP candidate Dilip Ghosh will face a high-stake battle.

Since its establishment in 2009, Bardhaman-Durgapur has sent CPI(M), TMC and BJP representatives once each to the Lok Sabha in the three previous polls.

In 2019, BJP's S S Ahluwalia emerged victorious after defeating TMC by a narrow margin of approximately 3,000 votes, marking it as a challenging battleground for the BJP.

During Ghosh's tenure as the state BJP president, the party won 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. (ANI)