Modi rally in Cooch Behar on Apr 5 amid BJP push to regain ground
Times of India | 30 March 2026
Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address his first rally in Bengal since BJP declared its candidate list for the 2026 assembly elections at Cooch Behar on April 5.
The party plans to intensify its campaign across the state from April 9, after nominations are filed for the first two poll phases.
Cooch Behar holds particular significance for BJP. The party won eight of nine assembly constituencies there in 2021, building its base through sustained outreach among local ethnic groups — Rajbanshi, Koch, Mech and Rava — and a significant expansion of RSS shakhas and schools in the district.
However, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections dealt a setback: Trinamool wrested the Cooch Behar parliamentary seat from the party, with former Union minister of state for home Nisith Pramanik losing by nearly 40,000 votes, and the party ceding leads in four assembly segments.
BJP has since worked to recover lost ground. Last year, Modi laid the foundation stone for a Rs 1,010 crore city gas distribution project covering Cooch Behar and Alipurduar.
On the manifesto front, Bengal BJP indicated Sunday that national president Nitin Nabin may release the document in the state.
An earlier plan to have Union home minister Amit Shah unveil it on Saturday was shelved after the party's top brass decided to incorporate changes, delaying publication by a few days.
A team led by economist Ashok Lahiri has been working on the manifesto for over a month, and Nabin — who visited Bengal last week — held discussions on its contents.
On Saturday, Shah instead released a 14-point "charge sheet" against the Trinamool govt. "The charge sheet has pointed out the failures of governance; the manifesto will provide the answers," said a Bengal BJP senior.
Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari will file his nomination from Nandigram on Monday, with Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan present at the filing. Shah may accompany Adhikari when he files his nomination from Bhowanipore.