PM Modi Skips Naming Mamata and Mahua in Krishnanagar Address, Leaving BJP Leaders Puzzled

In his speech in Krishnanagar on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spared the two Ms. Banerjee and banished Trinamul MP Mahua Moitra. This left state BJP officials trembling since they had previously attacked the pair during their rallies.

Modi delivered a powerful 27-minute address to the 20,000 demonstrators gathered on the grounds of Government College in the town of Nadia.

He charged Trinamul leaders with embezzling funds intended for the 100-day employment program by printing more than 25 lakh fictitious work cards. In order to claim that law and order had collapsed in Bengal and to lament the situation of the state's women, he also made a passing reference to the Sandeshkhali episodes.

However, in contrast to his Friday speech at Arambagh, Hooghly, he omitted the chief minister's name. He also failed to name Moitra, who in Parliament had been one of his harshest opponents due to her vehement statements about his supposed bias in support of the Adani group.

When asked to remark on Modi's visit to Krishnanagar, Moitra’s backyard, she was caustic. Moitra has a lot of programs going on around her constituency.

She told The Telegraph, "I'm flattered that he (Modi) visited my area even before the official announcement of the election schedule."

"He visited Krishnanagar the last time in 2019, and I won with a 65,000-vote margin. He had arrived at the last stages of the campaign at that time, but this time he arrived early. This is a really positive sign, and I have no doubt that I will win with more than one lakh votes.

The state BJP leaders were embarrassed by Mamata's name being left out, a day after she had met with Modi at the Raj Bhavan and had a private meeting, according to a Bengal unit source.

"Every state BJP leader who addressed the assembly prior to the prime minister disparaged the chief minister of Bengal, whom we have been focusing on as the primary gainer of all the corruption in the region," he said.

However, the prime minister said nothing about her. We will have a hard time justifying this exclusion to our general staff.

Numerous BJP insiders acknowledged that they were always anxious about any one-on-one meetings between Mamata and Modi because it would facilitate the CPM's and the Congress's accusations of a "secret understanding" between the two.

A BJP insider said, "That's why his silence on the Bengal chief minister following the Raj Bhavan meeting cannot be good news for us."

Modi's non-reaction to Moitra also astonished.

Since the Prime Minister was expected to speak in Krishnanagar, the seat Moitra represented before being removed from Parliament on December 8 due to accusations that she allowed outsiders to influence the questions she posed in the House, there was a great deal of interest in what she would say.

The tone was established by others who spoke before Modi, including Sukanta Majumdar, the head of the state BJP, and Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition, who accused Moitra of fraud and offending Hindu feelings with her remarks about Goddess Kali.

Within its formal response, the state BJP downplayed Modi's lack of comment over the two Ms.

The newly elected BJP member of the Rajya Sabha, Samik Bhattacharya, said that the Prime Minister's remarks at Arambagh was sufficient to "pin her down" on allegations of corruption, and that naming Mamata was unnecessary for the last two days.

Given his position as Prime Minister and his awareness of his dignity, Modi doesn't need to discuss someone whose guilt has been established beyond a reasonable doubt, leading to her removal from Parliament. Bhattacharya said, "She (Moitra) is no longer relevant to Bengali politics.

Modi made a wise political move, according to a political observer who wished to remain anonymous, by ignoring Moitra while state leaders pursued her.

Mahua had won easily from this seat the previous time. Trinamul obviously has an edge given the demographics of Krishnanagar, where Assembly constituencies like Chapra, Nakashipara, Kaliganj, and Tehatta have almost 50% Muslim votes. It would not have made sense to go for Mahua, the observer remarked.

But the observer was unable to guess why Modi had decided to remain silent on Mamata.

The observer said, "Let's see what happens when he comes to Barasat for another public meeting in the state on March 6th."

But according to political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty, the BJP had a good chance of capturing Krishnanagar since Satyabrata Mookherjee, a former minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's administration, had previously won the seat.

private meeting

Following the gathering, the Prime Minister held an impromptu 15-minute private discussion with Majumdar and Adhikari.

A senior BJP official stated, "Both leaders requested the Prime Minister to take action against a set of IPS and IAS officers who they said were working as de-facto Trinamul leaders."