Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch several development projects in Bihar and West Bengal on Friday ahead of assembly polls in both the states. He will also address public meetings in both these places. Projects worth Rs 7,200 crore will be unveiled in Bihar, while the cost of projects to be launched in Bengal is over Rs 5,000 crore, the PMO said.
The PMO said that in Bihar’s Motihari, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of and inaugurate development projects catering to rail, road, rural development, fisheries, electronics, and information technology sectors.
According to news agency PTI, the rail projects in the poll-bound state include automatic signalling between the Samastipur-Bachhwara line that will enable efficient train operations in this section and the doubling of the Darbhanga-Thalwara and Samastipur-Rambhadrapur line, projects worth over Rs 580 crore.
In a major boost to road infrastructure in the region, Prime Minister Modi will lay the foundations tone for 4-laning of the Ara bypass of NH-319 that connects Ara-Mohania NH-319 and Patna-Buxar NH-922, providing seamless connectivity and reducing travel time. Besides, Prime Minister Modi will also inaugurate the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) facility at Darbhanga and the state-of-the-art incubation facility of STPI at Patna for promoting IT/ITES/ESDM Industry and start ups.
PMO said that these facilities will help in boosting IT software and service exports. It will also nurture the tech startupecosystem for budding entrepreneurs and encourage innovation, IPR, and product development.
PM Modi will also inaugurate a number of fisheries development projects sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). This will mark the launch of modern fisheries infrastructure, including new fish hatcheries, biofloc units, ornamental fish farming, integrated aquaculture units, and fish feed mills across various districts in Bihar. Aquaculture projects will help in generating employment opportunities, enhance fish production, promote entrepreneurship, and accelerate socio-economic development in rural areas of Bihar, it said.
Modi to Visit West Bengal Amidst Migrant Row, Sound Poll Bugle For BJP
PM Narendra Modi is also slated to arrive in West Bengal to address a BJP rally in Durgapur and inaugurate a slew of infrastructure projects, a visit set against a charged political backdrop. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has vociferously protested the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in several BJP-ruled states, intensifying the pre-election rhetoric in West Bengal, which is slated for assembly polls in April-May 2026.
This marks the Prime Minister’s first visit to the state since Samik Bhattacharya assumed office as the new West Bengal BJP president earlier this month. A senior state BJP leader confirmed that the Prime Minister, arriving from Bihar, will first attend a government programme before addressing a public rally organised by the party in Durgapur.
Political Chessboard: Modi’s Visit and TMC’s Counter
The timing of Modi’s visit is seen as a significant political manoeuvre by the BJP to strengthen its foothold in the state, coming just days before Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s annual Martyrs’ Day rally on July 21. Banerjee is expected to use this crucial platform to galvanise her party workers ahead of the upcoming elections.
Regarding his rally, PM Modi stated on X, “West Bengal is suffering due to TMC misrule. People are seeing the BJP with hope and are convinced that only the BJP can deliver on development. Tomorrow, 18th July, will be addressing a @BJP4Bengal rally in Durgapur. Do join!”
The political atmosphere in West Bengal has been dominated by protests and sharp rhetoric concerning the detention and alleged profiling of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-governed states such as Assam, Odisha, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. The TMC has accused the BJP of targeting Bengalis and labelling them as “illegal Bangladeshis,” a strategy that proved electorally effective in blunting the BJP’s Hindutva narrative during the 2021 assembly polls.
Mamata and TMC Decry “Linguistic Profiling”
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, addressing a government programme in New Town on Thursday, directly questioned the alleged targeting of Bengalis: “First, they snatch away livelihoods by denying jobs to Bengalis, and then they brand them as Bangladeshis. What kind of governance is this?” she asked, indirectly pointing fingers at the saffron party.
The TMC leadership has further escalated its accusations, alleging that the BJP is “criminalising poverty and linguistic profiling” and exploiting national security as a tool to harass economically vulnerable migrant workers. This has transformed what began as isolated reports of harassment into a full-blown political flashpoint in the state.
BJP’s Counter and Development Push
Responding to the TMC’s allegations, BJP leader Rahul Sinha placed the blame squarely on the TMC government, citing “confusion over citizenship documentation.” He told PTI, “The lines between real citizens and those using forged documents have become increasingly blurred. Thousands of infiltrators from Bangladesh have created fake papers identifying them as Bengal residents and are now roaming across the country as Indians.”
As the war of words intensifies, the BJP’s West Bengal unit anticipates that the Prime Minister will leverage the Durgapur platform to articulate the party’s counter-narrative and showcase the Centre’s development agenda, contrasting it with what the party terms the TMC’s politics of “appeasement and identity mobilisation.”
On the development front, the Prime Minister is set to launch projects exceeding Rs 5,000 crore. These include laying the foundation stone for Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s (BPCL) Rs 1,950-crore City Gas Distribution project in Bankura and Purulia districts. He will also dedicate to the nation the 132-km Durgapur-Kolkata section of the Durgapur-Haldia Natural Gas Pipeline, a part of the ambitious Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra (PM Urja Ganga) project, constructed at a cost of Rs 1,190 crore. This section, traversing through Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly, and Nadia districts, is expected to benefit lakhs of households and create significant employment.
Furthering his government’s push for cleaner energy, Modi will dedicate the Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) systems installed at the Durgapur Steel Thermal Power Station and Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station under the Damodar Valley Corporation. This Rs 1,457-crore pollution control retrofitting project aims to substantially improve air quality in the region.
In the railway sector, he will inaugurate the doubling of the 36-km Purulia-Kotshila rail line, built at a cost of over Rs 390 crore, anticipated to ease freight movement between industrial hubs. Additionally, Modi will inaugurate two road overbridges (ROBs) at Topsi and Pandabeshwar in Paschim Bardhaman under the Setu Bharatam programme, constructed at a combined cost exceeding Rs 380 crore, to enhance connectivity and alleviate congestion at busy railway level crossings.