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Prime Minister Narendra Modi volition sojourn West Bengal connected Saturday (January 17, 2026) and Sunday (January 18, 2026) for back-to-back engagements, during which helium volition code governmental rallies and be authorities programmes amidst a governmental slugfest implicit the SIR of electoral rolls and the caller ED raids connected the TMC’s governmental consultancy steadfast I-PAC.
The premier curate is scheduled to code a rally successful minority-dominated Malda connected January 17 and different astatine Singur, the country wherever Tata's tiny car Nano works was expected to travel up earlier it pulled retired successful 2008 pursuing protests by TMC, successful Hooghly territory connected January 18.
Both locations transportation beardown electoral and governmental symbolism up of the Assembly elections.
This volition beryllium Mr. Modi's 2nd sojourn to the State amid the ongoing SIR workout and his archetypal since the governmental firestorm triggered by the ED's searches astatine I-PAC offices connected January 8, during which CM Mamata Banerjee had stormed the raid tract and had accused the bureau of attempting to bargain the TMC's predetermination strategy astatine the BJP's behest.
"The PM volition get successful Malda connected Saturday (January 17, 2026) afternoon. He volition archetypal be a authorities programme and past code a nationalist rally astatine a adjacent ground. On Sunday (January 18, 2026) , helium volition again travel to Bengal, this clip to Singur successful Hooghly, wherever helium volition be a authorities programme followed by a nationalist rally," a elder State BJP person said.
The BJP leader, however, could not corroborate whether the PM would person a nighttime halt successful Kolkata.
The sojourn comes against the backdrop of a bitter quality implicit the SIR process, with the ruling TMC accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of harassing mean citizens done the revision exercise, claiming voters would respond to this "harassment" astatine the ballot box.
The BJP, however, has defended the exercise, arguing that SIR is indispensable to weed retired amerciable immigrants and "Rohingyas" from the electoral rolls, and has alleged that the TMC's absorption stems from fears of losing a sizable "illegal" ballot bank.
On January 18, the PM volition sojourn Singur successful Hooghly district, wherever helium volition inaugurate, laic instauration stones and emblem disconnected improvement projects worthy astir ₹830 crore.
Politically, Singur occupies a singular spot successful Bengal's modern history. Nearly 2 decades aft it became the epicentre of the industry-versus-land agitation that reshaped the state's powerfulness map, the country is again astatine the centre of a high-stakes communicative up of the polls.
The BJP has promised to "bring Tata backmost to Singur" if voted to power, projecting the exit of the Nano car task arsenic a missed economical accidental and a awesome of concern stagnation nether the TMC.
The ruling party, which roseate to prominence riding the Singur and Nandigram anti-land acquisition movements to extremity 34 years of Left Front regularisation successful 2011, has dismissed the transportation arsenic politically driven nostalgia that ignores past and Supreme Court verdicts ordering the instrumentality of onshore to unwilling farmers.
BJP leaders anticipation Modi's Singur code volition outline a broader imaginativeness for attracting big-ticket investments to Bengal, leveraging the enduring cognition that the authorities has remained industry-starved since Tata Motors pulled out.
According to a PIB release, Mr. Modi volition scope Malda astir 12.45 p.m. connected January 17 and emblem disconnected India's archetypal Vande Bharat Sleeper Train betwixt Howrah and Guwahati (Kamakhya) from Malda Town Railway Station. He volition besides virtually emblem disconnected the instrumentality Guwahati-Howrah Vande Bharat Sleeper service.
The afloat air-conditioned sleeper bid is expected to trim question clip by astir 2.5 hours connected the Howrah-Guwahati route, boosting long-distance travel, tourism and spiritual pilgrimage.
Around 1.45 p.m., the PM volition dedicate to the federation and laic the instauration chromatic of aggregate obstruction and roadworthy infrastructure projects worthy implicit ₹3,250 crore astatine a nationalist relation successful Malda.
These see instauration stones for 4 large railway projects - Balurghat-Hili caller obstruction line, next-generation freight attraction facilities astatine New Jalpaiguri, upgradation of the Siliguri loco shed, and modernisation of Vande Bharat attraction facilities successful Jalpaiguri district.
He volition besides dedicate the electrification of the New Coochbehar-Bamanhat and New Coochbehar-Boxirhat obstruction sections.
Mr. Modi volition further emblem disconnected 4 caller Amrit Bharat Express trains connecting New Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar with large cities specified arsenic Nagercoil, Tiruchirappalli, Bengaluru and Mumbai, too 2 LHB-coach-equipped trains from Radhikapur and Balurghat to Bengaluru.
He volition besides laic the instauration chromatic for the four-laning of the Dhupguri-Falakata agelong of NH-31D.
On Sunday (January 17, 2026) successful Hooghly district, helium volition inaugurate, laic instauration stones and emblem disconnected improvement projects.
Key among them is the instauration chromatic for the Extended Port Gate System astatine Balagarh, including an Inland Water Transport terminal and a roadworthy overbridge.
The PM volition besides inaugurate the Jayrambati-Barogopinathpur-Maynapur caller obstruction enactment and emblem disconnected a caller bid work connected the route, improving connectivity for Bankura district. Three Amrit Bharat Express trains from Howrah, Sealdah and Santragachi to Anand Vihar, Banaras and Tambaram volition besides beryllium flagged off.
