West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | 'To fulfil his ritualistic photo-op quota': TMC's jibe at PM Modi over Ganga boat ride

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his boat ride on the Hooghly river in Kolkata, calling him a "political tourist".

The party also shared pictures of "Ganga river under Didi's rule" and "Yamuna river under double engine government".

"Political tourist Narendra Modi is now doing 'Nauka Vihar' (boat ride) in Bengal," the official handle of TMC posted on X.

Slamming the Prime Minister's visit to Yamuna river last year during Chhath Puja celebrations, the TMC said the Modi "flew down to Bengal to fulfil his ritualistic photo-op quota."

"Earlier, the Photo Mantri had to cancel his Chhath Puja prayers in Delhi after his Yamuna stunt was exposed as a purified, artificial pond created just for the cameras, while the real river remained a toxic sewer," the post read.

"Embarrassed and exposed, he flew down to Bengal to fulfil his ritualistic photo-op quota. Fine. Do as many nautanki boat rides as you want. But the Ganga of public anger is flowing upstream now, straight towards your sinking boat," it added.

Earlier in the day, the PM posted a few photographs of his river trip on social media, in which he is seen seated on a wooden boat with a camera in hand, and the iconic Howrah Bridge and the Vidyasagar Setu are visible in the background.

"Tried my hand at photographing this great river. Also caught a close glimpse of the Vidyasagar Setu and Howrah Bridge," the Prime Minister said on X.

The Prime Minister is actively campaigning for the BJP in the West Bengal assembly elections, the first phase of which was held on Thursday.

The second round of the elections will be held on April 29, and the counting of votes will be on May 4.