Farmers Movement Archive

Amit Shah to lead Bengal BJP in 2021 assembly polls: State leaders

Union home minister Amit Shah will supervise the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s preparations and campaign for the West Bengal assembly polls due next year, party leaders aware of the matter said on Friday.While BJP chief J P Nadda and other central leaders will look after other state units and supervise poll preparations in states like Bihar, Shah will concentrate only on West Bengal. BJP leaders said Shah took special care of the Bengal BJP unit when he was party president and has selected each member of the state committee that is responsible for the party’s poll management next year.At a meeting at Nadda’s residence in Delhi on Thursday, it was decided that Shah will visit Kolkata before Durga Puja to address state leaders and chart their course of action. Shah, Nadda, and other senior central leaders held discussions with Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh and national vice-president Mukul Roy for four hours at the meeting.Also Read: Amit Shah to chart strategy, stem rumblings in Bengal unit at Delhi meetBJP’s state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said Bengal holds a special place in the country’s electoral dynamics because except for the first few years after Independence, the state has always been the face of anti-Centre politics. “From that perspective, winning the state elections will have a huge political impact in the eastern part of India. Also, Bengal plays a big role in trade and commerce in the region. Bengal’s geographical location matters a lot to the BJP government.”Majumdar said Shah wants the party to use its best resources to win the polls.“Shah nurtured the Bengal BJP when he was party president and is doing so even now. He treats the state unit as his own baby. He personally selected the team of state leaders. It is only natural that the team will not play the final match without its coach,” said Majumdar.Bengal BJP leaders feel that Shah can effectively address the issue of poll violence. In Bengal, violence and electoral malpractice has been a regular feature of almost all polls.Also Read: ‘Glossy statements’: Home Ministry’s sharp comeback to Amnesty on ‘witch-hunt’ barb“The home minister can play a big role in ensuring that people can vote freely,” said a BJP leader, who did not want to be named.At Thursday’s meeting, Shah asked Ghosh and Roy to intensify political activities on specific issues, said state leaders aware of the matter.Ghosh said Shah will address BJP state committee leaders in Kolkata before Durga Puja. “The date has not been decided yet. After the pujas, Nadda Ji will also come to Bengal,” said Ghosh.“We discussed activities that will be taken up over specific issues to counter the TMC [Trinamool Congress] government. On October 5, protests will be held outside the offices of all community block development officers in Bengal against corruption in the distribution of relief for people affected by cyclone Amphan in May,” he said.“On October 8, the Yuva Morcha will march to Nabanna, the state secretariat.”Ghosh returned to Kolkata on Friday and headed straight to rallies in support of the farm laws passed last month. The laws have triggered protests by farmers.There is speculation that Roy may be entrusted with the task of overseeing the Bengal unit’s election machinery since the BJP performed well in the 2018 panchayat and 2019 Lok Sabha election when he was made convenor of the state election committee. He has also helped many TMC turncoats join the party.The BJP has been upbeat over its prospects in the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls since its performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Its vote share in the state increased to over 40% in 2019 from a mere 2% in the 2011 assembly polls. The BJP won 18 out of West Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats to emerge as the second-largest party after TMC in the state.

Hindustan Times

02-10-2020

Kolkata