FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI BUSINESS NATION Stock Market rebounds after three sessions of losses BRICS+ meet ends without joint statement Page 10 | Page 5 Mamata confident of fourth term, calls for early voting STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 27 April M amata Banerjee waved victory signs and assured people that Trinamul Congress is coming to power for the fourth consecutive time. “Don’t get swayed by what the BJP leaders are saying. After the first phase of the election, they have understood that we are coming back with an overwhelming majority,” she said while inaugurating a mega road show this afternoon. She urged people to go to the polling station in the morning to cast their votes. In keeping with the tradition, Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee took part in a mega road show to mark the end of campaigning for the 2026 Assembly election. The second phase of the election will be held on 29 April. The first phase of the election was held on 23 April. In the second phase, polls will be held for 142 seats. The mega road show started from Sulekha More in Jadavpur and ended at Gopalnagar intersection covering a distance of 6.3 kilometres. Miss Banerjee walked the entire stretch. She was accompanied by Debashis Kumar, Firhad Hakim, Javed Khan, Sagarika Ghosh, Sushmita Dev among others. She took more than two hours to cover the route. Thousands of people stood on both sides to greet her. She waved at the people. Songs highlighting the various projects taken up by the state government were played during the entire stretch of the rally. Miss Banerjee and party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee visited 291 Assembly constituencies where the party has fielded candidates. In three seats in Darjeeling Gorkha Janamurti Morcha is fighting the election. Miss Banerjee had done a road show in Bhawanipore on Sunday. The presence of women who waited for hours together to see Miss Banerjee’s mega road show was remarkable. They waved at Miss Banerjee and shouted Jay Bangla slogans. It may be mentioned that in the first phase of election the women voted 2 per cent more than men. Trinamul Congress has dropped 74 sitting MLAs. In Kolkata, where there are 11 seats, five new candidates were nominated. Veteran Trinamul Congress leader Paresh Pal was replaced by Kunal Ghosh in Beliaghata. In Manicktala, Shreya Pandey replaced her mother the sitting MLA Supti Pandey. In Entally, Sandipan Saha replaced his father Swarnakamal Saha. In Jorasanko, Vijay Upadhaya replaced the sitting MLA Vivek Gupta. In Ballygunge, veteran Trinamul Congress leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay has replaced Babul Supriyo who has become a Rajya Sabha MP. There was an overwhelming response from the people when the rally reached Hazra more, half a kilometre before the finishing line. They shouted the slogans, Bangla Nijer Meyeke Chaye (Bengal wants its own daughter) and Jotoi koro hamla ebar jitbe Bangla (Bengal will win despite severe attacks on it).” The campaign came to a close at 6 p.m. and people are waiting for the second phase of the poll, 29 April and the result day, 4 May. PM calls for regime change in Bengal, slams industrial decline and violence under TMC RAJIB CHAKRABORTY Barrackpore, 27 April Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called for a change of government in West Bengal, alleging industrial decline, rising violence and lack of vision under the ruling Trinamul Congress. The Prime Minister was addressing a massive rally in Barrackpore ahead of the second phase of Assembly polls. Addressing the gathering India & NZ ink $20 billion FTA: New Delhi: India and New Zealand on Monday signed the India- New Zealand Free Trade Agreement giving duty-free access, and a commitment of $20 billion investment between both the countries. PM Modi on the FTA said, "Today marks a landmark moment in the India-New Zealand partnership! I am delighted that the India-New Zealand FTA signed today will add unprecedented momentum to our developmental partnership. It reflects the deep trust, shared values and ambition that bind our two nations. This agreement will greatly benefit our farmers, youth, women, MSMEs, artisans, startups, students and innovators. It will open new avenues for growth, create opportunities and deepen our synergy across sectors. The investment commitment of $20 bn by New Zealand will further strengthen our cooperation in agriculture, manufacturing, innovation and technology, paving the way for a more prosperous and dynamic future for both countries." in Bhatpara on the last day of campaigning, Modi said the once-thriving Barrackpore industrial belt had witnessed a steady collapse. “There was a time when people came here in search of work. Today, people are being forced to leave. The sound of factories has been replaced by the sound of gunfire,” he said, referring to the closure of several jute and textile mills in recent months. Citing the condition of the Auckland Jute Mill and other shut units, the Prime Minister alleged that nearly a dozen jute mills in the region had ceased operations in the past few months, turning the industrial belt into a symbol of economic distress. He accused the state government of failing to provide any roadmap for revival. Launching a sharp attack on the ruling dispensation, the Prime Minister alleged widespread corruption, “syndicate raj”, political violence and appeasement politics. He urged voters to “wipe out Trinamul from every booth” and vote for the BJP’s lotus symbol to usher in development and restore law and order. MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | Tuesday, 28 April 2026