Run up to Assembly polls: Amit Shah, JP Nadda to visit Bengal again this month

With West Bengal set for Assembly polls in April-May, the political fight between the ruling TMC and the BJP is likely to intensify in the new year.

As the Left Front and the Congress have entered into an electoral alliance, the state will witness a three-cornered contest.

The new year will begin with the visits of two heavyweight leaders of the BJP. While BJP national president JP Nadda is scheduled to visit the state in the second week of January, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit the state in the third week.

According to the BJP, Nadda might visit Bolpur in Birbhum district and hold organisational meetings with the state party leadership. Nadda’s visit comes close on the heels of Amit Shah and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visiting Bolpur and holding road shows. Later in the month, Shah is likely to visit Matua community dominated Thakurnagar area of North 24 Parganas district to quell the anger of members of Matua community who were upset after his statement that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be implemented once Covid-19 vaccination starts. “Both JP Nadda ji and Amit Shah ji will frequently come to Bengal to hold political programmes and to strengthen the organisation. Our aim is to put pressure on the state government in the run-up to the election. The time is already up for the TMC government. The BJP is all set to come to power in Bengal with huge majority,” said West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh.

The TMC is banking on the image of CMMamata Banerjee to take on the BJP. According to a senior party leader, Banerjee is scheduled to undertake a series of visits to the districts to highlight her government’s achievements. “It is unfortunate that the BJP has deployed its national president, Union Home Minister, chief ministers of others states, CBI and ED to fight against Mamata Banerjee. The BJP lacks leaders and that’s why taking away leaders from our party. However, we are not at all bothered as Mamata Banerjee herself enough to fight the BJP. She will undertake multiple visits to the the districts in the new year,” said a senior TMC leader.

The state government has also launched its ‘Duare Sarkar’ (government at doorstep) initiative to help people get benefits of its social welfare schemes. In a bid to combat it, the BJP has launched a Lokkho Sonar Bangla (aim for Golden Bengal) campaign.

The Left-Congress combine is focusing on “addressing people’s issues to fight both the TMC and the BJP.”

“We will raise people’s issues such as price rise, economic crisis, unemployment and etc to reach out to the masses. Both TMC and BJP are engaging in competing communalism. Our objective is to fight BJP and TMC,” said state CPM secretary Surjyakanta Mishra.