Assembly Election 2021 LIVE updates: Amit Shah launches BJP campaign for Kanyakumari bypolls; Mamata slams Modi in Siliguri

Assembly election 2021 Latest Updates: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched his party's campaign for the 6 April Lok Sabha bypoll here and exuded confidence that the party would not only win here, but that the NDA in Tamil Nadu will emerge victorious in the Assembly elections too next month.

The BJP, which is part of the AIADMK-led NDA in Tamil Nadu, has fielded former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the bypoll.

Launching the party's campaign from Suseendiram in this Kanyakumari district, Shah said he was confident that a coalition government of the NDA will come to power in the state after the Assembly polls.

Speaking in Siliguri, Mamata Banerjee said that Poribortan (change) will happen in Delhi, not in Bengal. She also claimed that women are safe in Bengal and sought to draw attention to states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The TMC has pushed Bengal towards division instead of development and divided people on religious lines, alleges Modi.

Modi said that Mamata Banerjee is not the same person who raised her voice against the Left and referred to the TMC having broken off from the Congress.

Modi takes jibe at Mamata Banerjee over her video riding a scooty in protest against fuel price hike. "It is good that you have not fallen(from the scooty), otherwise you would've made the state in which it has become a scooty, would have made that state its enemy," he says.

Modi exhorted the crowd to chant slogans against corruption, tolaabaazi, syndicate, unemployment and violence, terrorism and injustice. "Bengal had chosen you in the role of 'Didi' but why did you limit yourself to the aunt of only one nephew, Modi asks," targeting Mamata Banerjee and her nephew.

Modi alleged that the democratic system has been destroyed in the state and promised that the BJP will strengthen this system.

Next 25 years important for Bengal's development and the next five years will form the foundation for the next 25 years. This time you will vote for taking Bengal to the new heights, Modi says.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata has begun where he addressing the 'Brigade Cholo Rally' in front of a massive crowd. Modi's first rally after the poll notification for the Assembly elections was issued in the state will kick start the election season momentum in the state.

Suvendu Adhikari, who switched to the BJP from the TMC, slammed his former party at the Brigade Parade Ground. "TMC is not a political party, it has become a private limited company. Its chairman is called Mamata Banerjee and its MD is Tolabaaz Bhaipo," he said, referring to Banerjee's nephew.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed at the Kolkata airport, said reports. Modis is likely to begin his address at the Brigade Parade Ground at 2 pm.

Actor Mithun Chakraborty joined the BJP ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled address at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sharpen BJP's campaign for the high-octane assembly elections in West Bengal with a mega rally at the Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata on Sunday.

The prime minister's Sunday rally is said to be culmination of the "Parivartan Yatra" launched by the saffron party in the poll-bound Bengal in February this year.

"The prime minister will set the tone of the election campaign with a rally at Brigade grounds," a BJP leader said.

Sunday's rally will be the first major event of the saffron party in West Bengal after declaration of eight-phase elections in the state. The BJP has planned to make it a grand success with a record crowd presence which the iconic ground has never witnessed.

The BJP, which was scheduled to come out with the candidate list for the first two phases on Friday, had decided to postpone it for the brigade rally.

"We have decided to postpone the release of the candidate list for the brigade rally. Once it is over, we would come out with our list," BJP leader Rahul Sinha said.

Along with Modi several top senior BJP leaders will be present at the rally. BJP sources told news agency PTI that the rally might also throw up surprises as a few noted personalities including Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty might be present on the dais.

Once considered close to the CPM, Chakraborty was Rajya Sabha MP for the TMC for few years, before resigning expressing desire to quit politics.

Chakraborty's participation in Modi's brigade parade ground rallyhas generated considerable interest among BJP supporters turning out for the mega event, according to the news agency.

Chakraborty met BJP national general secretary in- charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya after arriving in Kolkata on Saturday evening.

Modi will be addressing the mega poll rally as West Bengal heads for an eight-phase assembly election starting 27 March.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh has claimed that the election rally will be attended by nearly 10 lakh people.

With inputs from PTI