Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to reinforce the BJP's narrative that it could win elections anywhere in India, citing the party’s recent victories in municipal polls in Maharashtra and at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

Addressing a public meeting in Malda, Modi said the BJP’s success in regions where it had previously struggled demonstrated the party’s expanding footprint.

“The BJP has won the municipal elections in Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. We have also won in Kerala. These are places where the party had not won earlier, and these victories prove that we can also form a government in Bengal,” he said.

Modi also referred to the BJP’s electoral successes in the eastern states of Odisha, Assam and Bihar.

“For decades, eastern India’s politics were dominated by parties with regressive agendas. In recent years, these states have given historic mandates to the BJP and NDA,” he said.

Modi also raised some local and regional issues in his address, including the plight of mango growers, jute farmers, and people affected by river erosion.

He further claimed that the minimum support price for jute had increased during his tenure compared to the UPA regime.

PM pays homage

During the rally, the Prime Minister paid homage to Shibendu Sekhar Roy, a Hindu Mahasabha leader from Malda who played a key role in ensuring the district’s inclusion in India during the partition in 1947. State BJP leaders presented Modi with an oil painting of Roy at the event.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha member and son of the late leader, said: “It feels good that my father’s contribution has been recognised. The Prime Minister paying tribute to him is a matter of pride.”