Narendra Modi
PM Narendra Modi likely to visit Matua shrine during Bangladesh trip
New Delhi/UNI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Orakandi, a sacred shrine of the Matua community in Gopalganj, and Satipith in Shikarpur, Barishal, when he goes to Bangladesh later this month.
Modi would visit Bangladesh on March 26-27 at the invitation of his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina to join the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Independence of Bangladesh, the Birth Centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the 50th year of Bangladesh-India diplomatic ties.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was in Dhaka on Thursday to set the agenda of the upcoming visit.
Mr Modi is scheduled to visit the Bangabandhu memorial in Tungipara to pay homage to the founding father of Bangladesh on March 27 and on the same day he is expected to visit Orakandi temple and Satipith, diplomatic sources said.
The sources told BSS news agency that Mr Modi is likely to visit Orkandi Temple to pay homage to Harichand Thakur, founder of the Matua community and "Sugandha Shaktipith" (Satipith) in Shikarpur in Barishal district.
The sources, wishing not to be named, said that Mr Modi has also desired to visit Rabindra Kuthi Bari in Kushtia and the ancestral home of Bagha Jatin, a revolutionary leader against the British rule, in Kushtia.
Indian High Commission officials in Dhaka and Bangladesh security personnel are said to have visited these areas to examine security aspects there ahead of the high-profile visit.
"It was almost certain that the Indian PM is visiting Orkandi temple but his visit to 'Satipith' and other areas are not confirmed yet," BSS quoted an official as saying.
Media reports say Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is going all out to woo the Matua community in West Bengal which goes to the polls later this month.
The Matuas form a substantial vote bank in at least 40 Assembly constituencies. The community is concentrated mostly in the North and South 24 Praganas, with some scattered population in districts such as Cooch Behar, Uttar Dinajpur, Malda and Nadia. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP was leading in at least 26 of the 40 constituencies.
And that's the reason, the reports say, Modi would visit Orakandi. The Matua voters are believed to be a decisive factor in the North 24-Pargana and Nadia district as the BJP and Trinamool Congress are involved in a huge tussle to win over the community.
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