Birbhum: In an apparent move to strengthen the party organisation ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections in West Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to visit the state on April 14. BJP sources said Shah will reach Kolkata on Friday morning and then leave for Birbhum, to address a public meeting in Suri.
Shah's meeting in Birbhum district comes at a time when Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Anubrata Mondal is lodged in the Tihar Jail for his involvement in the alleged cattle smuggling scam. With panchayat elections likely to be held later this year, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has herself taken charge of the party affairs in Birbhum. Now, in absence of the arrested TMC leader, the saffron party is aiming to strengthen its own organisation in the district. BJP sources said the party is aware that winning in a difficult district like Birbhum is not possible without central intervention. Shah's program is expected to provide the much needed boost to the party workers.
Political analysts feel that Birbhum is one of the crucial areas of the TMC. Anubrata's absence is likely to work in favour of the BJP and other opposition parties who are trying to gain their foothold in the district, they said. Earlier, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had criticised Banerjee for taking charge of Birbhum organisation.
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After addressing the meeting in Birbhum's Suri, Shah will return to Kolkata on Friday evening. On the next day, he is likely to offer a puja at Dakshineshwar temple and then leave for Delhi.
