Bengal's Haldia prepares to welcome PM Modi; Assam set for hospitals' & 'Asom Mela' launch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit West Bengal once again on Sunday as preparations are underway in the Haldia area of Purba Medinipur district to welcome the PM. PM Modi will dedicate the LPG import terminal built by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited to the nation in Haldia. 

READ | PM Modi To Visit West Bengal On February 7 To Inaugurate Key Development Projects

PM Modi on Saturday announced that he would visit the state and stated that he will also inaugurate the 348 km Dobhi – Durgapur Natural Gas Pipeline section and is expected to lay the foundation stone of the second Catalytic-Isodewaxing unit of Haldia Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation. 

"Tomorrow evening, I would be in Haldia, West Bengal. At programme there, will dedicate to the nation the LPG import terminal built by BPCL. Will also dedicate to the nation Dobhi-Durgapur Natural Gas Pipeline section of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project," PM Modi tweeted on Saturday.

READ | PM Modi Chairs High Level Meet At Parliament; Amit Shah, Narendra Tomar Present

Ahead of his visit to Bengal, PM Modi will be in Assam where he would launch the ‘Asom Mala’ programme in Dhekiajuli. Foundation stones for medical colleges and hospitals in Biswanath and Charaideo will be laid, according to the PM's Office. Prime Minister Modi's visit to both West Bengal and Assam comes ahead of the highly-anticipated assembly elections in the two states. 

READ | Raj Thackeray Urges PM Modi To Intervene And Talk To Farmers: 'How Long Will This Go On?'

WB Assembly Election 

The West Bengal Assembly with 294 seats will go to polls in April-May 2021, Trinamool holds 222 seats at present. However, BJP has made major inroads in the state in the Lok Sabha elections winning 18 seats out of 42 and establishing itself as the major opposition force in the state. Recently, TMC trumped BJP in all 3 polls, but the BJP is using its booth-level strategy and has regularly dispatched its top leaders including Amit Shah and JP Nadda in the state for winning the upcoming elections. 

For Assam, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has kickstarted its election process with the formation of a 16-member State Election Committee - including CM Sarbananda Sonowal, Himanta Biswa Sarma, and state chief Ranjeet Kumar Das. What remains as a key lookout point in the Assam polls, is the three-headed issue of the CAA-NRC-NPR. This could be a major contention point for the BJP whose NRC drive resulted in the exclusion of nearly 19 lakh people in Assam.

READ | PM Modi Speaks To S Africa Prez Over COVID-19 Management; Affirms 'collaborative Efforts'