On Friday, Modi took some striking pictures at sunrise on a boat on the Hooghly in Kolkata, and he referred to ‘Mother Ganga’ while also talking to the boatmen. He posted these pictures during the very important election period in West Bengal to emphasize his promise to improve the state, especially since so many people voted in the first phase.
Images and message from the Hooghly
The pictures on X show the Prime Minister sitting on a wooden boat, with Vidyasagar Setu in the background. He said he attempted to photograph the river, and also showed pictures of Howrah Bridge.
Modi said the Ganges ‘is part of Bengal’s heart’ and described its water as ‘the lasting character of an entire civilization’. He spent time by the Hooghly River to thank ‘Mother Ganga’, spoke with boatmen and people out for morning walks, and repeated his promise to develop West Bengal.
Here are the key points he highlighted in his posts on X:
– Admiration for the hardworking boatmen
– Personal gratitude to ‘Maa Ganga’
– Pledge of development for West Bengal
– Photographs of Vidyasagar Setu and Howrah Bridge
Campaign push amid phase one voting
This river trip happened after a busy day of campaigning. On Thursday, the Prime Minister gave a speech at a meeting in Krishnanagar and went to Belur Math to pray.
Sharp attack on TMC’s stance on women
At the Krishnanagar meeting, Modi accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of having wrongly ‘taken the rights of the women of Bengal’. He said they voted against the change to the Constitution (the Constitution Amendment Bill on women’s reservation) which would make it work from the and 2029 General Election, and he asked people voting for the first time to vote for change.
He believes ‘a big change is happening across Bengal’, and he says the high number of voters, and lots of women and young people at the meetings, prove this. Using the phrase ‘Paltano Dorkar’ which means ‘change is needed’, Modi says he’s sure the BJP’s lotus flower symbol will ‘be seen everywhere’ when the votes are counted.
Turnout and timeline
The Election Commission of India says 91.91 percent of people in West Bengal voted in Phase I, which is more than the 84.80 percent in Tamil Nadu. Voting in this first phase ended at 6 pm on Thursday.
The remaining votes will be cast on April 29, and the votes will be counted on May 4.
Competing claims from BJP and TMC
The BJP wants to remove the TMC government in Bengal. Modi sees the number of votes as a ‘huge agreement for change’ and has been more critical of the current government’s performance.
Outlining the major political claims in the state:
– BJP aims to unseat the TMC in Bengal
– PM Modi called turnout a mandate for change
– He said May 4 would mark TMC’s expiry
– Mamata Banerjee projected 125-134 of 152 seats
Mamata Banerjee, the current Chief Minister, says that the way people are voting shows the TMC ‘are already likely to win’. The party thinks they will win between 125 and 134 of the 152 areas, and the final results will be on May 4.
Why the riverfront optics matter
By talking about ‘Mother Ganga’ and showing Kolkata’s river bridges, Modi is appealing to what people in the region see as their culture, while also presenting a picture of himself as actively involved in the campaign. His conversations with the boatmen also add the idea of helping the local economy to his message of development.
Because many people voted in the first phase, and the arguments about women’s rights and how the government is run have become stronger, both sides are telling very different stories. As the next votes are about to be cast, the pictures of Modi on the Hooghly add extra importance to the BJP’s campaign for change, and keep the fight for Bengal in the news.
