Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reached Kolkata on Monday to bolster the BJP’s efforts in the crucial second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, set for April 29.
Upon reaching the city, Majhi was accorded a warm welcome by local residents and members of the Odia community based there. He is slated to lead a road show in Bagda seeking votes for party candidates and attend a rally in Rajarhat, the constituencies going to polls in the second phase, which covers 142 seats including areas in and around Kolkata. He is also scheduled to chair closed-door meetings with BJP candidates and interact with Odia community members.
This is CM Majhi’s third visit to the neighbouring state to campaign for the BJP. The second phase of polling follows the first round on April 23, with results for all 294 Assembly seats expected on May 4.
Post visit, he will return to Odisha and proceed to his native Keonjhar to take part in party and official programmes in his constituency and district, according to sources.
The BJP has ramped up its outreach in this phase, focusing on urban and semi-urban pockets in the Presidency and Medinipur divisions. BJP Odisha state president Manmohan Samal has been stationed in Kolkata for several days, coordinating ground-level activities. The party’s strategy includes a dedicated push to consolidate support among the sizeable Odia-speaking population in West Bengal, particularly in Kolkata, Howrah, and southern districts like Medinipur (West Midnapore and Jhargram areas). Thousands of Odia migrants and their families form an influential voter base in these regions.
Reports indicate the Odisha unit has mobilised nearly 50 state leaders — including ministers and MLAs — for the Bengal campaign.
The intensified campaign coincides with high-profile visits by top BJP leaders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are also campaigning vigorously in West Bengal on the final day before phase 2 voting. Modi has held road shows and rallies in areas like Dum Dum, Howrah, and other Kolkata-adjacent spots, emphasising development and change, while Shah has conducted road shows (including in Barasat) and public meetings.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Bengali-speaking labourers employed in factories, construction sites, and fishing/aquaculture sectors in Odisha’s paradip are leaving their workplaces in large numbers, with many risking their lives by traveling on the rooftops of overcrowded buses, to cast their votes in the elections. Many hail from West Bengal districts of Nadia, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, and Purba Bardhaman.
Similar scenes are also reported from nearby areas like Erasama.
According to sources, regular bus services for Kolkata, Digha, and Kanthi are operating far beyond capacity, with additional vehicles reportedly arranged to ferry voters. Due to severe seat shortages, numerous passengers have been forced to perch precariously on bus roofs.
This mass return is part of a broader wave of migrant workers rushing home from various states, driven by a mix of civic duty and anxiety over the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which removed a significant number of names and raised fears of disenfranchisement.
