Kolkata, Dec 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to West Bengal’s Nadia district was disrupted on Friday after dense fog and poor visibility prevented his helicopter from landing at the Taherpur helipad, officials said.
The helicopter, which was to ferry the Prime Minister from Kolkata to Taherpur, hovered over the helipad for some time but was forced to return to Kolkata airport due to unsafe landing conditions.
PM Modi had arrived in Kolkata around 10.40 am to attend a programme in Taherpur, where he was slated to inaugurate key highway projects and later address a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally titled Parivartan Sankalpa Sabha.
As per the original schedule, he was to travel by helicopter to the venue, but adverse weather conditions disrupted the plan.
Officials said the Prime Minister waited at Kolkata airport while authorities assessed the situation.
Options under consideration included waiting for weather conditions to improve, travelling to Nadia by road, or addressing the rally virtually.
Sources indicated that covering the nearly 100-kilometre distance by road could prove difficult due to time and logistical constraints.
There is now a strong possibility that PM Modi may address the rally virtually if the fog persists and aerial travel remains unsafe.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his arrival, a large number of BJP supporters gathered at the Taherpur rally site from early morning.
Visuals showed thousands waiting at the venue in the hope of hearing the Prime Minister in person. According to reports, security personnel were forced to temporarily close entry gates as the crowd swelled beyond capacity, leaving many supporters waiting outside the rally ground.
Arrangements at the venue included two separate platforms — one for the inauguration of government projects and another for the political rally.
The Taherpur event was expected to mark the formal launch of the BJP’s campaign for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
PM Modi was also scheduled to address issues concerning the Matua community, particularly countering the ruling Trinamool Congress on the sensitive citizenship debate.
Officials continued to monitor visibility levels, with a final decision on the Prime Minister’s programme expected after a reassessment of weather conditions. For now, dense fog remains the key obstacle, casting uncertainty over one of the BJP’s major political events in the state ahead of the 2026 polls.
