In battleground Bengal, Modi & Shah's rallies to counter Mamata's mega Opposition show

The BJP will kick-start its election campaign in West Bengal with a series of rallies beginning with a public meeting by party chief Amit Shah on January 20, a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's mega show featuring prominent Opposition leaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to attend a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground here on February 8, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Dilip Ghosh said.

The announcement comes a day after the Supreme Court had put the BJP's proposed "rath yatras" on hold, but allowed the saffron party to hold public meetings.

"We will start organising our month-long public rallies from January 20. Amit Shah will address the first rally on January 20 in Malda," Ghosh said.

On January 21, Shah will address two rallies in Suri in Birbhum district and Jhargram. The next day, he will address rallies at Krishnanagar in Nadia district and Jaynagar in South 24 Parganas district. The rallies in various parts of the state will continue till ..