Days after making a statement by stopping by a Bengali snack shop to savour the local Jhalmuri, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning cruised through the Hooghly river and offered prayers to the Ganges.In West Bengal for the second round of campaigning ahead of the April 29 elections, the Prime Minister also spent time with the boatmen, listening to their concerns and hailing their hard work.After the cruise, PM Modi tried his hand on a camera, attempting to capture the Hooghly in its many shades. Later, he shared his experiences on X.“For every Bengali, the Ganga occupies a very special place. One can say that the Ganga flows through the soul of Bengal. Her divine waters carry the timeless spirit of an entire civilisation.This morning in Kolkata, I spent some time on the banks of the Hooghly river, an opportunity to express gratitude to Maa Ganga,” PM wrote.He said he also had the opportunity to meet boatmen, whose hardworking nature he described as admirable, along with morning walkers.“On the Hooghly, I reiterated our commitment to work towards the development of West Bengal and the prosperity of the great Bengali people,” PM pledged, as the BJP attempts to dislodge Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, which is seeking a fourth straight term in the state.Some more glimpses from Kolkata. Indeed a very special morning at the Hooghly river. pic.twitter.com/D8Wwzy3KsX— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 24, 2026The Prime Minister also caught a closer glimpse of the Vidyasagar Setu and Howrah Bridge from the river.Modi’s outreach and his attempt to identify with powerful symbols of Bengali culture come at a time when the TMC has accused the BJP of being a party of “outsiders” in the state.