KOLKATA: PM Modi’s second rally in seven weeks in West Bengal, in the industrial township of Durgapur Friday, started with a “Jai Ma Kali, Jai Ma Durga” homage to the state’s two biggest Hindu deities. He then took Trinamool’s campaign for the 2026 assembly polls head-on, vowing that “infiltrators will be investigated as per provisions in the legal system”. “We will not allow a conspiracy against Bengal’s ‘asmita’ (pride). It is Modi’s guarantee,” he said to a cheering crowd. “For the sake of vote-bank politics, TMC is putting Bengal’s identity at stake by encouraging and protecting illegal immigrants and that has become a threat to national security as well. An ecosystem has been created to support infiltrators,” Modi claimed, dovetailing barbs against Mamata Banerjee’s “appeasement politics” with a new focus on “Bengali pride”.TMC anti-development: PM in Bengal Other BJP politicians, like former MP Locket Chatterjee and assembly opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari started with the customary “Jai Sri Ram” slogan but the PM’s eschewing of Ram and his focus on Bengal’s deities and past political, cultural and industrial icons (like Bidhan Chandra Roy, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Kadambini Ganguly, Dwarkanath Tagore and Bishnu Dey) gave a glimpse of BJP’s strategy in the run-up to the 2026 assembly poll: stress BJP’s connect with Bengal to offset TMC’s hammer-andtongs campaign against “the harassment and torture of Bengalis in BJP-ruled states”. Modi also brought up “classical language status” for Bengali, taking credit for “a BJP initiative”, while accusing Trinamool and Left Front of never caring for the language. Trinamool was “anti-development”, Modi said, attributing the flight of Bengal’s youth to other states to that. “People across the country used to come here for employment. The trend has changed now. Existing industries are closing down. We have to pull Bengal out of this situation,” he said. The PM wove this narrative with BJP’s usual anti-Trinamool litany as he blamed its use of “syndicate raj, gunda tax and mafia control” for driving out industries. “It formulates policies encouraging corruption. Which industrialist will dare to come to a state where there are riots,” the Prime Minister asked. PM launches projects worth Rs 7,200 cr in poll-bound Bihar Meanwhile, in Patna, PM laid foundation stones, inaugurated and dedicated to the nation multiple development projects worth over Rs 7,200 crore before addressing a public meeting during his Motihari programme. (With inputs from Madan Kumar in Patna)