Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday tried to galvanise his party ranks for the Assembly polls, claiming the countdown to the fall of the Trinamool government had begun and that the oppressors of the people would be punished.

“The countdown to the end of the Maha Jungle Raj in Bengal has already begun,” Modi told BJP workers at a massive rally on the Brigade Parade Grounds.

“The day is not far when Bengal will see a new government under the BJP. TMC goons who oppress the people will not be spared; they will be punished for their crimes.”

Neither the BJP nor the police were willing to put a figure on the size of the crowd.

Modi, however, said the size of the rally conveyed Bengal’s mind: “No one can save the Trinamool Congress now. The change has been decided and written on the wall in Bengal.”

Not everyone in the state BJP was satisfied with the Prime Minister’s pep talk and his assurances about building a Bengal that its icons like Rabindranath Tagore and Sri Ramakrishna had dreamt of.

Many argued that something far stronger was needed to lift the morale of the party workers in the face of atrocities by Trinamool goons.

“Following the SIR, the names of the dead, duplicate, shifted and other illegal entries have been removed. There are signs of Hindu consolidation. But the main challenge is to field party workers on the ground,” a BJP leader said.

“Many (BJP) workers are still inactive because of the violence they faced from Trinamool goons after the 2021 polls. At many places, proper action has not been taken.”

He added: “Besides, many of the Trinamool ministers and other leaders, who were arrested on charges of corruption, are now out of jail. So, we had expected to
hear something new (from Modi), alongside a stronger pledge to act against Trinamool goons.”

However, another senior party leader said the Prime Minister had been exceptionally aggressive on Saturday and that his speech would encourage party workers to begin campaigning in right earnest.

“We had brought party workers from all the districts (to Brigade). Most of them are ground-level workers and an integral part of the party’s election machinery,” a BJP leader in Calcutta said.

“You must have noticed the roar that went up whenever he (Modi) threw the gauntlet at Trinamool. The party will come up with proper assurances and plans for Bengal when it releases its election manifesto.”

Modi tried to counter Trinamool’s allegations of central government deprivation by saying Bengal would start receiving the benefits of central schemes once the BJP came to power in the state.

He accused Trinamool of preventing the implementation of central schemes in Bengal, or of miring them in corruption.

“People will get their pucca houses only when the TMC goes out of power. They will get the benefits of Ayushman Bharat once the BJP comes to power,” Modi said.

He named several more schemes that he said would benefit Bengal.

Highlighting the multiple recruitment scams in Bengal, the Prime Minister alleged that Trinamool corruption had destroyed the future of countless youths.

He said this injustice would not be tolerated and thatBengal’s youth deserved transparency, opportunity and dignity.

Modi was addressing the final phase of the Parivartan Sankalp Sabha, which hehad kicked off last July from Durgapur.

“The upcoming elections will be a decisive battle to save the soul of Bengal and restore good governance,” he said.

“The soul of Bengal will not be defeated. Bengal’s youth, farmers and women are not ready to be defeated.”

Condemning the alleged “insult” of President Droupadi Murmu by the state government, the Prime Minister said: “Such an act is an insult to the crores of tribal citizens, to women across the country and to the ideals of Babasaheb Dr B.R. Ambedkar.”

He criticised the repeated attacks by Trinamool on constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission, security agencies and even the armed forces, saying such behaviour weakened democratic institutions and spread political anarchy.

He went on to recite a few lines from Tagore: “Bipode morey rokkha karo e nohe mor prarthona….”

“Some people will threaten you. Some people will say that change cannot take place in Bengal. But remember, when the people decide, no power can stop it. And the people of Bengal have taken the decision,” Modi claimed.