‘Bengal leads nation in poll campaign activities’

Kolkata: Bengal stands at the forefront of the nation in electoral campaigning, hosting an impressive array of around 100,000 meetings, marches and various poll-related programmes.According to a news report in a vernacular news network, it was learnt that no other state has experienced such an extraordinary volume of electoral events. Following the conclusion of the final campaign round on Thursday 6 pm, the news report claimed that sources from the Election Commission revealed that 119,276 applications were submitted by political parties and organisations eager to hold poll-related programmes in Bengal.

Out of these, 95,000 applications received approval. West Midnapore district emerged as the epicentre of campaign activities with 10,688 programmes, followed closely by North 24-Parganas. On March 16, 2024, the declaration of the 18th Lok Sabha election took place on a Saturday, ushering in the model code of conduct (MCC) that evening. With this, the official election campaign commenced. However, the fervour of campaigning had already been in full swing. Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee and the ruling party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had begun visiting various constituencies across Bengal well before the Election Commission’s announcement. Similarly, State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and Opposition Leader Subvendu Adhikari were actively traversing the region. Even PM Modi held four meetings.