From UP to Assam and Odisha: PM Modi’s 2019 campaign blitz begins on Thursday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, the party’s two biggest campaigners, are expected to address around 125 and 150 rallies between the last week of March and mid-May, when campaigning for the general election ends, two BJP leaders said on condition of anonymity.

The schedule

Mr Modi will open his campaign with a rally in Meerut on March 28 and address another in Jammu the same day, one of the leaders said. He will visit Odisha on March 29 and April 1, and address two rallies apiece in Assam and in West Bengal, with those visits set for March 30 and April 3. On March 31 he has a public meeting in Itanagar and a video interaction with supporters of his Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign. The BJP launched its national campaign with Vijay Sankalp Sabhas at around 200 locations on Sunday, without the Prime Minister, and more were planned at about 250 locations on March 26.

The party has divided the country into clusters of three to four Lok Sabha seats, and Mr Modi will address a rally in each. Uttar Pradesh may have about 20 clusters, while Bihar and West Bengal will see him speak at least 10 times each. Polling will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19.

Focus on UP, Bihar and Bengal

The second leader said the campaign would concentrate on Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, which send 80, 40 and 42 members to the Lok Sabha respectively and together account for 162 seats; the BJP-led NDA won 106 of them last time. The first leader said the party had won 104 of 120 seats in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and wanted to repeat that. The BJP faces an alliance of the BSP, SP and RLD in Uttar Pradesh and a five-party alliance led by the RJD in Bihar. In 2014 it won only two seats in West Bengal and one in Odisha.

Between September 2013 and May 2014, Mr Modi addressed at least 425 rallies, and he has addressed around 100 in the past 90 days.

What happened next

The BJP won 303 of 543 seats in the 2019 election and Mr Modi began a second term on 30 May 2019. Amit Shah became Union Home Minister in May 2019.

Originally published on 26 March 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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