Kolkata, April 15 (IANS) Amid the crucial two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal later this month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be addressing as many as four public rallies in the state on Wednesday, which coincides with the Bengali New Year’s Day.

HM Shah’s scheduled events will start with a public meeting at Lobong Ground in Darjeeling district at 11.30 a.m., which will be followed by three other public meetings — Rajganj in Jalpaiguri district at 1 p.m., Falakata in Alipurduar district at 2.30 p.m., and Tufanganj in Cooch Behar district at 4 p.m.

Meanwhile, less than 24 hours before the scheduled rally of the Union Home Minister at Falakata on Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and also the sitting legislator from that constituency was attacked on Tuesday night, allegedly by the Trinamool Congress activists led by the chief of the Trinamool Congress-led Falakata-II village panchayat, Ravi Minz, and his associates.

The purported attack took place while Burman was on a door-to-door campaign, when Minz and his associates attacked Burman and his associates with sticks, following which Burman’s driver was severely injured.

The local Trinamool Congress leadership, however, denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, instead of addressing any public meeting on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be addressing two roadshows at Siliguri and Mal, both in North Bengal.

On the other hand, Trinamool Congress general secretary and the party’s Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, will be chairing a crucial organisational meeting at his Lok Sabha constituency of Diamond Harbour on Wednesday.

He held a virtual meeting with Trinamool Congress leaders at various levels on Tuesday, where he issued a strong note of caution advising all to work together for the forthcoming Assembly polls, avoiding infighting.

The two-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal will be on April 23 and April 29. In the first phase, there will be polling for a total of 152 Assembly constituencies, mainly scattered over the entire North Bengal and some parts of South Bengal.

In the second phase, polling will be held for the remaining 142 constituencies scattered mainly in the state capital of Kolkata and its adjacent districts.

The counting will be on May 4.

–IANS

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