PM Narendra Modi to join Durga Puja celebrations in West Bengal on Thursday: Here's what he said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join Durga Puja celebrations and address the people in West Bengal on Thursday (October 22) virtually. On the occasion of Durga Puja, the PM will deliver a message to the people and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made elaborate arrangements for this.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, PM Modi called Durga Puja "an auspicious occasion, which celebrates the victory of good over evil". "Durga Puja is an auspicious occasion, which celebrates the victory of good over evil. We pray to Maa Durga to bless us with strength, happiness and good health," he tweeted.

He added that he would join the celebrations via video conferencing and also extend his greetings to everyone. "Sisters and brothers of West Bengal, Tomorrow, on the auspicious day of Maa Durga Pujo’s Mahashashti, I would join the Divine celebrations via video conferencing and shall also be extending my greetings to everyone. Do join the programme live!" he also tweeted.

Durga Puja is an auspicious occasion, which celebrates the victory of good over evil. We pray to Maa Durga to bless us with strength, happiness and good health.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2020

The BJP has made arrangements for the address to the people of West Bengal at 12 noon on Thursday in every polling booth across the state's 294 Assembly constituencies. PM Modi will share his "Pujor Shubecha" (Puja greetings) message with the people of the state on Thursday when Durga Puja celebrations start there.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said they have made arrangements across the state for more than 25 party workers and voters to watch the address in each of the over 78,000 polling booths while adhering to social distancing norms. In the run-up to the prime minister's address, there will be a cultural programme at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Kolkata from 10 am on Thursday in the presence of senior West Bengal BJP leaders, they said.

The state BJP has made arrangements to telecast the exercise live. West Bengal is scheduled to hold the Assembly polls in the first half of the next year. The BJP has emerged as the main challenger to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and has been exuding confidence that it will end Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's 10-year-old reign in the state.

The saffron party had won 18 seats in West Bengal against the TMC's 22 in last year's Lok Sabha polls and trailed the ruling party in terms of vote share by only three per cent.