Today in Politics: Fallout of sexual harassment complaint against Bengal Governor Ananda Bose; Modi to address three rallies in the state

As all eyes remain peeled for who the Congress names from Amethi and Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh — till the early hours of Friday there were no indications from the party — and if the Gandhi siblings enter the fray, a political firestorm has hit West Bengal.

The Kolkata Police on Thursday evening received a sexual harassment complaint against Governor C V Ananda Bose. The allegation has been levelled by a Raj Bhavan staffer. Bose and the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led state government have often engaged in bitter feuds in the past and after the allegation surfaced the party took aim at the Governor, calling it shameful. Bose, in his response, hit back at “engineered narratives” and said his fight against “corruption and violence in Bengal” would continue.

Among the things to watch out for will be how this row plays out on Friday in the middle of a bitter election campaign and the developments in the case.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Bengal. He stayed the night at the Raj Bhavan and will address election rallies in the constituencies of Krishnanagar, where the TMC candidate is Mahua Moitra, Bardhaman Purba, and Bolpur.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will address rallies in the Aonla, Badaun, and Sambhal Lok Sabha constituencies. In Badaun and Sambhal, he will be accompanied by Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav whom the BJP has been deploying to reach out to Yadav votes and break the Samajwadi Party’s hold over them.

BJP president J P Nadda will address a public rally at the BJP district headquarters in Gujarat’s Dahod district, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address an election rally in North Goa. Shah is scheduled to address the rally in Mapusa town around 5 pm.

The BJP has fielded four-time MP Shripad