Narendra Modi eyes West Bengal, Rahul Gandhi focuses on Tamil Nadu, Kerala in Assembly polls

Spearheading the Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP) campaign in the four states and one union territory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been on a trail to solidify BJP’s standing in the poll-bound states.

The ongoing elections, which began on March 27, are going to be crucial for the BJP as well as the Congress.

Until now, PM Modi has addressed 24 rallies since the election dates were announced on February 26. A quick glance at the number of rallies Modi has addressed in the poll-bound states reveals that the focus of his campaign is more inclined towards West Bengal and Assam.

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He has addressed over nine rallies in West Bengal and seven in Assam. The Prime Minister seems very keen on taking on CM Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal as he has been accusing her of corruption, appeasement, and favouring her nephew. Recently in a rally in Bengal, he alleged that the "obstructionist mindset" of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and that her TMC deprived West Bengal of industries and jobs.

Apart from Modi, a handful of Union ministers have also been visiting the two states to expand the party's presence. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have already addressed multiple rallies in West Bengal and Assam.

On the other hand, if we take a look at the Congress, leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadhra have been mostly campaigning in the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, Rahul hasn’t made a single visit to West Bengal so far.

Till April 3, Rahul had visited Kerala five times and been to Tamil Nadu 10 times to campaign for the ongoing elections. He has been mostly reaching out to the fishing community in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Recently at a rally in Kerala, Gandhi said that he understands their difficulties and that the LDF government had "backstabbed" them, referring to the controversial Rs 5,000-crore MoU signed by the government with US-based firm EMCC over deep-sea fishing, against which the Opposition had levelled serious charges. The contract was later scrapped.

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The party has largely made its presence felt in Assam and was heading the state until the BJP took over in 2016. As for the ongoing polls, Rahul has held 8 rallies in the state till now with sister Priyanka addressing 7 rallies and mostly focusing on the tea plantation workers in the state.

It may be noted that the BJP has always been a marginal force in the southern states and that could be a reason why the party is keener on winning the other two states.