Kolkata, April 9 (IANS) A striking visual emerged during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally in Asansol on Thursday, as a person in the crowd held up a poster appealing directly to the Prime Minister with the message, “Respected Modi ji, please save West Bengal.”

The moment came as the election campaign in West Bengal gathered momentum ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.

The state is set to vote in two phases, scheduled for April 23 and April 29.

In the first phase, polling will take place across 152 Assembly constituencies, while the remaining 142 seats will go to the polls in the second phase.

The counting of votes is slated for May 4.

Amid loud cheers and slogans, the Prime Minister addressed a large and enthusiastic gathering in Asansol.

During his speech, attention briefly shifted to a person in the audience, who was seen holding up a poster featuring PM Modi’s portrait along with a map of West Bengal.

The poster prominently displayed the message, “Respected Modi ji, Please save West Bengal”, and also highlighted several issues faced by the public, including “Corruption, law and order, infiltration, women safety and unemployment”.

These concerns mirror the key themes on which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been targeting the ruling Trinamool Congress government in the state.

The visual quickly stood out amid the rally, reflecting the charged political atmosphere as political parties intensify their campaigns in the run-up to the state elections.

Meanwhile, PM Modi launched a blistering attack on the Trinamool Congress government, claiming that the ruling-party-linked syndicate and mafia were looting the state’s resources and also warned that all those goons will be held accountable and answerable after the election results on May 4.

PM Modi, addressing his second election rally in Asansol, pinned the blame on previous dispensations from the Congress to Trinamool Congress for West Bengal’s “disgraceful decline from prosperity to deprivation” and said that the BJP’s good governance is the only solution for West Bengal’s burgeoning woes.

Accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of taking the state back to ‘dark ages’, the Prime Minister said that it is essential for West Bengal’s progress that the state is freed from Trinamool’s clutches.

“For Bengal’s progress, freedom from Trinamool is necessary, because while the entire country is moving ahead at a rapid pace, Trinamool is pushing Bengal backwards,” he added.

“Trinamool’s time is over. The next government will be a double-engine government of the BJP. After May 4, Bengal will enter a new era of development,” he said.

Making a fervent call to the electorate to choose their options wisely in the upcoming state polls, Prime Minister Modi said that the people of West Bengal won’t get fooled this time, as they want a “performing” government with a proven track record.

–IANS

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