4.30 pm: Modi targets Mamata's loyal vote bank - Muslims
Given that Mamata Banerjee has been a part of the NDA in the past and switching national allies has not really affected her political prospects at home before now, one would have expected her to join hands with BJP without batting an eyelid. She has to swallow quite a bit of her pride to go back to the Congress and the BJP could have been a great choice, but there is just one thing holding her back - and that is Modi and his reputation for being Muslim unfriendly to put it lightly.
Given that Mamata Banerjee has always played to the galleries when it came to the Muslim vote bank, Modi is a risk she is probably not ready for. She has made sure Taslima Nasreen doesn't come back to Kolkata, she has given various sops to maulvis despite criticism and she has even not spoken up when Muslim fundamentalist organisations tried to disrupt a book launch which they alleged was anti-Muslim.
He suggested - and Mamata Banerjee will absolutely not be delighted to hear this - that Muslims have been deliberately left out of the development drive in Bengal. Banerjee has probably taken all appeasing measures possible, including proposing reservations for jobs for Muslims, after she came to power in Bengal.
"We have a Haj quota of 3,800 and we get 37,000 applications. Bengal has a Haj quota of 12,000 and a bigger Muslim population than Gujarat, yet they get just 11,600 Haj applications. This shows that Muslims don't have enough money to travel to Haj. This also shows that they have not been included in the development race in the state."
Also, while Mamata has not vocally backed the idea of the Third Front, she has suggested forming a federal front - something Modi dismissed as a 'third rate' solution for the country's problems in his Kolkata rally. Again, Mamata might not indulge in the luxury of reading between the lines and categorising it as an attack on Mulayam Singh Yadav. She is most likely to take this as an attack on her politics and jeopardise BJP's chances of forming an alliance with TMC.
4.15 pm: Bengal's best friend Modi?
Continuing in his somewhat confused stance on the Trinamool Congress - where he at once derided the condition of the state and at the same time chose to not haul up Mamata vocally for her performance as CM - Modi then tried playing on Bengali pride so to say. Some one must have briefed him about Bengal's deep devotion to Sourav Ganguly and the state's cricket fans' grudge against national cricket bodies and stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the treatment meted out to their favourite cricketer.
Assuming that Bengal's voters possibly suffer from a persecution complex epidemic, Modi sought to comment on what is easily Congress' internal politics. He first said, "You have placed Mamata ji in power for the state, you can put me at the Centre and there is Pranab da at the top anyway."
He then went on to remind his audience how Pranab Mukherjee was given a short shrift by Congress in the past and instead of choosing him as the PM candidate after Indira Gandhi was killed, Rajiv Gandhi was made the Prime Minister. "Again in 2004, Sonia Gandhi chose Manmohan Singh as the PM candidate and not Pranab Mukherjee," he said, his voice deep with remorse for Pranab Mukherjee's aborted political ambitions.
It's another thing that Bengal's Sourav Ganguly complex probably extends to its biryani, sweets and its literature - not so much its politicians.
3.54: Modi takes on Mamata's 'maa maati maanush'
Not only did Modi snatch Mamata Banerjee's favourite catchline, "Chitto Jetha Bhoy Shunno", he also took on her party's slogan - 'Maa, Maati, Manush' and pointed out that women were not exactly leading rosy lives in the land where they are associated with the mother (maa). "In the land where women are given the highest respect girl children can't go to school because there are no toilets in government schools," he said.
3.40 pm: Modi takes on both Mamata and the CPM
Modi slammed the CPM government and the Mamata Banerjee government together, though he went a little soft on the latter. "I congratulate you for having overthrown a regime that sucked the blood out of Bengal, that destroyed its 'sonar Bangla' reputation," he said.
He then spoke about 'poriborton'. "You called for poriborton (change). Have you seen poriborton around you? Can you see the change, do you feel the change?" he asked, taking an indirect dig at the Mamata Banerjee government.
Blowing alternatively hot and cold on the Mamata Banerjee government, Modi chose to dismiss the TMC government instead of attacking it, like he does in states with opponent parties in power. Clearly, Trinamool Congress, with its 19 seats in Lok Sabha is not someone Modi can afford to rub the wrong way, as of yet.
Given that the pro-BJP wave in Bengal is a myth that only the party wants to believe in, Modi ticked off the TMC government ever-s0-gently and went all guns blazing and Bengal's current favourite dartboard, the CPM.
He said, "You have already given Mamata Banerjee the responsibility to bring about change in Bengal. I suggest, you give me the responsibility to bring about change in the country. West Bengal government alone cannot change the state's fortunes. You need a government at the Centre to back the state government," said Modi.
However, he didn't let off Mamata all too easily. He reiterated the fact that industry is on a back foot, like is education and employment. "Why is the state which has rivers and such a great climate, lagging behind in agriculture? Why is their no electricity? If Gujarat can get electricity, even Bengal can? Ask for your rights," he asked the audience.
"Give me all the Lok Sabha seats," he said. "For the sake of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, if nothing else," appealed the Gujarat CM, hardly realising that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee's legacy is one that is lost on the audience he is speaking to at the moment.
3.21 pm: Modi greets Bengal in broken Bengali
The way to a Bengali's heart is partly through the stomach, yes, but also through a few words spoken in Bengali when it is least expected. Narendra Modi got the feeling perfectly right as he began his address with a few lines in Bengali. Reading out from a paper, Modi greeted Bengal and said that the land is known for its 'roshogollo' (not roshogolla), sondesh, dhaak and Durga Puja. "The country knows Bengal for its intelligence and sweet nature," he said.
He then resorted to drawing parallels between Gujarat and Bengal - and no he didn't speak about the mutual predilection for sugar. In fact, he turned to one name, which is a sure shot crowd puller in Bengal - Rabindranath Tagore. "Guruji's brother spent a long time in Bengal and helped in the development of Ahmedabad," he said, though he didn't name the said brother.
He also added that Subhas Chandra Bose's brother's family lives in Gujarat and has had a huge role to play in the progress of Gujarat.
2.00 pm: Modi to address rally in Kolkata
After two massive rallies in the Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh, BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is set to address a rally in Kolkata his first ever rally in the eastern state.
The BJP, a minor party in West Bengal, is expecting at least 5 lakh people at the Brigade Parade ground venue, to outdo Chief Minister and TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee's rally held last week.
BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi. AFP
"We don't want dynastic rule, nor do we want a government of rioters at the Centre. We want a people's government," Banerjee had said at her rally on 30 January, further saying that the TMC would go it alone in the 2014 polls.
Besides attacking the Gandhis, Modi's speech will be closely watched for his remarks on Mamata Banerjee. In Uttar Pradesh, Modi had said, "Mamata fights for Bengal; what do (UP leaders) Akhilesh, Mayawati do for you?"
Modi is also likely to raise the issue of declassification of secret files on Netaji Subash Chandra Bose's death.
On Tuesday, BJP had criticised the state government for alleged non-cooperation with Gujarat security officials. The Army denied the BJP permission to land Modi's helicopter at the Race Course ground in the city, which the BJP alleged was a "conspiracy" by the Centre.
West Bengal BJP President Rahul Sinha said that it had been planned to bring the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate by helicopter from the NSC Bose International Airport to avoid traffic snarls.
"But permission was denied at the last moment. It is a conspiracy by the UPA government," he alleged.
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