PM Modi likely to visit Bengal in March, first since 2021 poll debacle, but amidst the Sandeskhali row

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit West Bengal on March 6, where he will address a rally in Barasat amid ongoing political tensions surrounding the Sandeshkhali issue. This visit comes months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Reports suggest that during his visit, the Prime Minister may meet and hold discussions with the women of Sandeshkhali who have accused TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his associates Sibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar of sexual abuse and land grabbing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to Bengal holds significance as it marks his first trip to the state since the BJP suffered a defeat against the Trinamool Congress in the 2021 Vidhan Sabha Elections. In the elections, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress secured 213 out of Bengal's 294 state assembly seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party managed to win only 77 seats, contrary to Modi's earlier assertion that the BJP would comfortably surpass 200 seats in the state.

It is important to note that Narendra Modi's visit comes amidst the ongoing dispute between the central government and the state regarding the release of funds owed to Bengal for various social welfare initiatives like the PM Awas Yojana and MNREGA's 100-day work scheme. Mamata Banerjee met with PM Modi in December 2023 in Delhi, urging him not to withhold these funds, which she argued would adversely affect the poor in Bengal. “Nothing was done despite telling the Prime Minister several times to clear the pending funds to West Bengal. Those who have worked under the 100 days scheme haven’t received their wages for the last three years. There are 21 lakh job cardholders who did not get money. The central government did not release the funds,” Mamata Banerjee had said during a protest in Kolkata over the release of Bengal’s dues, announcing that the state government will pay the MNREGA workers out of Bengals coffers.​​