Modi to meet senior BJP executives during his city visit
The Statesman | 23 August 2025
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate three new Metro corridors in Kolkata on Friday, marking a major boost to the city’s transport network, before addressing a political rally, where he is expected to sharpen attacks on West Bengal’s ruling Trinamul Congress (TMC).
Mr Modi, who will arrive in the state capital after launching a series of projects in Bihar, said in a post on social media platform X: “I am eager to be among @BJP4Bengal Karyakartas at a rally in Kolkata. Public anger against the TMC is increasing” and that “West Bengal is eagerly looking towards the BJP with hope because of our development agenda.”
Later in the day, Modi will address a BJP workers’ rally in Dum Dum on the northern fringes of the city, where he is expected to highlight the party’s development push and escalate his criticism of the TMC ahead of state elections.
The new Metro services to be flagged off include the Noapara–Jai Hind Airport stretch of the Yellow Line, the Hemanta Mukhopadhyay–Beleghata section of the Orange Line, and the Sealdah–Esplanade segment of the Green Line. Modi will ride the newly-opened Noapara–Airport route after inaugurating the lines via video link.
The projects are part of infrastructure works worth over Rs 5,200, according to the Union information ministry. Modi will also lay the foundation stone for a six-lane elevated Kona Expressway project, estimated to cost Rs 1,200 cr. While West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been invited to the inauguration, officials from her TMC party said she would not attend due to “policy differences” with the federal government.