Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah is set to visit West Bengal for the second time in a month in early May, as the party gears up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
During his visit, Shah is expected to travel to Baharampur in Murshidabad on May 8 and to Jorasanko, the birthplace of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, on May 9 to mark his birth anniversary.
The BJP won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the 2019 elections, and is aiming to target 35 seats in the next general election. According to sources, the party has identified 24 weak constituencies where it did not perform well in the 2019 elections, and Shah and BJP president JP Nadda will hold meetings in these areas.
During their visit, Shah and Nadda will also interact with party workers across seats and hold discussions on grassroots issues. A senior BJP leader said that the visit of Shah and Nadda is significant for party workers, as they listen to all problems and provide encouragement and tips. Marking Tagore’s birth anniversary in his birthplace is expected to help the BJP counter the ruling Trinamool Congress’ claim that it is an outsider party.
The visit also comes amid the controversy over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s alleged approach to Shah after the Trinamool Congress lost its national party status. Banerjee has denied making such a call, and said that she would resign if it is proven.
Bengal’s leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari had claimed that Banerjee had called Shah after the Election Commission revoked TMC’s national party status to request him to repeal the decision. Banerjee said that it was the norm to review the national party status of all parties after 10 years, and that her party’s name would remain the ‘All India Trinamool Congress’.
She also invited the BJP to approach the Election Commission if they had any problems, and added that her party would approach the common people.