Bengal BJP leaders said they were “overwhelmed” with the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi had kicked off the campaign in the state with the twin rallies on Wednesday and vowed to build on the “momentum” to achieve their quest for 23 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats.

“No party has ever taken the challenge of filling up the Brigade Parade Grounds at a notice of only 10-odd days, that too from south Bengal only. The response was stellar. We had to remove boundaries to allow crowds standing outside to catch a glimpse of Modiji. It is now our job to make sure the turnouts translate into votes,” BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu said.

Although the BJP state unit claimed a crowd of 7-8 lakh, sources said the actual headcount was around a fourth of that number.

State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said the day showed the “tempo” was now “pro-BJP” and the crowds reflected the people’s mood for a “real change” in the state.

“Modiji touched on all major points, from parivartantra (dynasty) in Trinamul to the syndicate raj…. We will take his message down to the grassroots. He gave us more than we expected.”

According to Ghosh, the Prime Minister had set the tone.

“He has given us our line of attack. After the success of these rallies, especially the one at the Brigade, we are more confident of achieving our 23-seat target in Bengal.”