Amit Shah kicks off Mission Bengal

New Delhi: With the vote share jumping from a meagre nine per cent to 30 per cent in West Bengal, BJP chief Amit Shah has decided to strengthen the party and make it battle-ready by spending three days in the state to hold meetings with his cadre, local NGOs and intelligentsia. 

Mr Shah, who will reach Siliguri today, is expected to meet booth level workers at the birthplace of the naxalite movement-Naxalbari in north Bengal. Union minister Smriti Irani earlier said that Naxalbari’s history was about “lal hinsa ki kranti ( history of red violence.)”

Mr Shah’s visit to naxalbari will also be a signal that the BJP stands for “unity of the country” and “against red-terror.”

On Wednesday, Mr Shah is expected to be in Bhowanipore in south Kolkata — the constituency of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The plan is to randomly choose a non-BJP household and meet the residents and possibly have tea with them. It will be his “chai-pe charcha”.

In the evening, he is expected to meet local NGOs and intellectuals at Mahajati Sadan and later have dinner with all state district presidents.

On April 27, Mr Shah will visit Rajarhat to meet the cadre and possibly repeat his plan of entering non-BJP households.

Incidentally, Bengal is the first stop to try out BJP’s Deendayal Vistar Yojna — Mr Shah’s plan to strengthen and expand the party at the booth levels, particularly in areas where BJP continues to remain weak. 

Naxalbari has been targeted not merely to counter the “history of red-terror”, but north Bengal was gradually emerging as a stronghold of the BJP. Speaking to this newspaper, Bengal BJP executive member, Mr Shishir Bajoria said, “By going to the booth level workers, the BJP president is asking the cadre to reach out to the people of  the state.” According to him, “It has been proved both politically and electorally that BJP is on rise and Trinamul is on it’s way out.” 

While the BJP chief will be reaching Naxalbari on Tuesday, Ms Banerjee has already embraked on a  four-day tour to north Bengal starting Monday to hold administrative and review meetings.

Speaking to the media, Ms Smriti Irani said that  during his Bengal tour the party president will also call for “solidarity” among the BJP cadre who have been vicitims of “terror unleashed by Trinamul Congress.”

However, not merely Trinamul and BJP, the ultra left wings have also chosen Naxalbari as their target area. With the tacit support of the CPI(M), the overground naxalite organisations which include CPI(ML), COIML will be holding a month long celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of the naxalite movement from May 25 at Naxalbari.

Mr Shah will be visiting the areas and booths in Gujarat, where the BJP either continues to remain weak or has been hit by the rapid rise of the Opposition. The party president is expected to spend at least three days in each of these states. 

He will be visiting these states amidst his ongoing nationwide tour to be kicked off from Jammu and Kashmir by the end of this week. In his nationwide tour, Mr Shah will also review the party’s performance and strength in all the southern states.