Guwahati — Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 86,000 booth workers at the ‘Booth Vijay Sankalp Sabha’ in Guwahati on February 14, 2026, inaugurating development projects worth ₹5,450 crore in Assam, while remaining silent on China’s reported revival of the Lalmonirhat airbase in Bangladesh, located just 135 kilometers from India’s strategic Siliguri Corridor.
Modi’s day-long visit to Assam, ahead of state elections scheduled for the first half of 2026, included inaugurating the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu bridge across the Brahmaputra, the Indian Institute of Management Guwahati, and flagging off 225 electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, according to statements from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“After the national budget was passed, this is my first visit to Assam and the Northeast, which was always neglected by Congress. We are spiritually serving the Northeast. It is our Ashtalakshmi,” Modi told party workers, as reported by The News Mill on February 14, 2026. He claimed Assam received over ₹5.5 lakh crore in the past 11 years compared to about ₹10,000 crore annually during Congress rule.
The rally occurred as reports from May 2025 confirmed Chinese officials inspected the World War II-era Lalmonirhat airbase in Bangladesh, raising concerns about potential encirclement of India’s northeast region. The airbase, located 12-15 kilometers from the Indian border in Bangladesh’s Rangpur Division, has been dormant for decades but is now at the center of revival plans by Bangladesh’s interim government led by Mohammed Yunus.
According to Business Today on May 20, 2025, geostrategist Brahma Chellaney stated, “After seeking to move the nearly $1 billion Teesta River project from India to China, Bangladesh reportedly is planning to revive with Chinese assistance the old British-era airbase at Lalmonirhat. Both projects, located near the Indian border, carry significant implications for India’s security.”
Built in 1931 by the British government and used by Allied forces during World War II, the Lalmonirhat airbase is spread over 1,166 acres with a 4-kilometer-long runway, according to Northeast News on October 19, 2025. The facility lies close to India’s Siliguri Corridor, often referred to as the “Chicken’s Neck” due to its narrow 22-kilometer width connecting India’s eight northeastern states to the mainland.
Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman visited the Lalmonirhat airbase on October 16, 2025, to inspect construction work on a large hangar capable of parking 10-12 fighter aircraft, according to Northeast News investigations. Work on the hangar had been underway for six months prior to the visit.
A senior officer of Bangladesh Army’s Directorate of Military Operations, Brigadier Mohammad Nazim-ud-Daula, declared in May 2025 that the Lalmonirhat airbase was being “revived to support national needs, including the Aviation and Aerospace University,” though he added he had “no information about Chinese involvement,” according to Northeast News.
Reports from Defence Stories on May 22, 2025, indicate that a Pakistani company is likely to be engaged as a subcontractor for the Lalmonirhat airbase project, with work expected to commence in October 2025. Prior to Chinese visits, a Pakistani military-intelligence delegation reportedly inspected border areas in Bangladesh.
Indian defence officials expressed cautious vigilance in May 2025. “We need to see if Bangladesh will allow other countries like China and Pakistan to use it. Bangladesh has the right to develop air fields for their security reasons, but that should not be used against India,” an official told Assam Tribune.
The airbase’s strategic significance has intensified as Bangladesh deepens economic and military ties with China under the Belt and Road Initiative. China has released $4.45 billion for 35 projects under the BRI in the last 10 years, according to Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen, as reported by The Business Standard in November 2023.
Under the BRI, Bangladesh is set to receive $26 billion for BRI projects and $14 billion for joint venture projects, totaling a $40 billion package, according to The Financial Express. China has been implementing 21 bridges and 27 power projects in Bangladesh, with around 670 Chinese companies having invested in the country.
Bangladesh’s interim government head Mohammed Yunus stated during his Beijing visit in March 2025 that “Bangladesh is the only guardian of the ocean for the entire region including the northeast of India,” as reported by Organiser on May 20, 2025. He urged China to extend its economic hold in Bangladesh.
India-Bangladesh relations have deteriorated since the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. Defence ties between Dhaka and Beijing had been deepening under the new regime, with China serving as a major supplier of equipment to the Bangladesh armed forces, according to Assam Tribune on May 16, 2025.
The Bangladesh Air Force is interested in acquiring 16 Chinese JF-17 Block III aircraft to bolster air capabilities, though these are expected to be stationed at the airbase in Cox’s Bazar, according to Northeast News. The JF-17 is a multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation.
At his Guwahati rally, Modi focused on infrastructure development and attacked the Congress party, stating that from Independence until 2014, Congress governments built only three bridges over the Brahmaputra in nearly seven decades. “After 2-3 years, BJP workers made a double-engine government here. In the past 10-11 years, the BJP-NDA government has completed 5 large bridges on the Brahmaputra River,” Modi said, according to Northeast Live on February 14, 2026.
Modi also referenced the recent landing of an Indian Air Force aircraft on the Moran highway, calling it a sign of transformation. Earlier in the day, Modi made a historic landing aboard a C-130J aircraft at the Northeast’s first Emergency Landing Facility in Assam’s Dibrugarh district, according to Assam Tribune.
The Indian Army conducted an integrated field exercise named Operation ‘Teesta Prahar’ in the Siliguri Corridor near the Bangladesh border on May 8-10, 2025, aimed at showcasing enhanced combat readiness and joint-force coordination in riverine terrain, according to SPS Aviation. India has deployed the S-400 air defence missile system to protect the Siliguri Corridor, with other weapon systems including BrahMos missiles and UAVs positioned to protect the region.
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