Have to ensure BJP wins more than 35 seats from West Bengal: Amit Shah to state party unit

Amit Shah and JP Nadda in Kolkata on Tuesday. Pic/PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda on Tuesday assessed the readiness of the party's Bengal unit for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and urged the state leadership to strive for victory in 35 parliamentary seats in the eastern state, according to BJP leaders.

Shah and Nadda's visit to the city focused on evaluating the organisational landscape in West Bengal ahead of the 2024 general elections. The leaders conducted a series of meetings, with no public events.

IN PHOTOS: Amit Shah, JP Nadda hold meetings in Kolkata ahead of Lok Sabha elections

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In the evening, both participated in a closed-door programme at the National Library and addressed the party's social media activists before departing for New Delhi, according to state BJP leaders.

During the meeting, both Shah and Nadda took stock of organisational preparedness, emphasising outreach to the masses with the developmental work accomplished by the Modi government in the last decade.

The leaders stressed the party's need to secure more than 35 Lok Sabha seats from the state, according to a senior state BJP leader present at the meeting.

"At the internal party meeting, both Amit Shah Ji and Nadda Ji took stock of our organisational preparedness and asked us to reach out to the masses with the developmental work the Modi government has done in the last 10 years," the BJP leader said.

An election management committee is likely to be formed soon, comprising both old guards and new entrants, including central observers, according to state BJP sources.

Another senior state BJP leader said, "There has been no announcement as of now. But an election management committee will be formed, which will look into the winnability of seats, our strengths, and weaknesses in each seat."

At the National Library, Shah expressed confidence that the party will secure more than 35 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state. In the 2019 polls, the saffron camp had secured 18 seats.

The Bengal BJP media cell shared a list of pointers of Shah's speech at the closed door programme.

Shah, addressing the Bengal BJP's social media cell, said, "In 2024, the BJP will win more than 35 seats in West Bengal. The BJP will contest the election hinging on its social media strength because the regional media does not carry the message of the saffron party, fearing the TMC," as quoted by the state BJP.

Lashing out at the TMC government over corruption allegations and lack of employment, Shah commended the sacrifices made by BJP workers, referring to post-poll violence in the state in 2021.

He emphasised the party's remarkable growth in the state, from having no MLA to securing 77 seats in the assembly and 18 Lok Sabha members.

Referring to the expulsion of Mahua Moitra in the "cash for query" case and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mimicking Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Shah questioned, "Does it befit an MP?"

During the programme, he questioned, "Didi's (Mamata Banerjee's) MP shares her password with businessmen in exchange for gifts, and now she is attempting to protect that MP. How many inquiries were made about the poor in Bengal? They will never do that because the poor cannot provide them with expensive gifts.

Additionally, her MP mimics the vice-president?"

Shah also refuted TMC's claims of withholding funds, providing comparative figures of funds released during the UPA and NDA governments.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh downplayed the visit saying, "The visit won't have any impact. They will come and go, but the people of Bengal will have faith in

TMC and Mamata Banerjee only. We have seen this during the 2021 assembly polls too and the results too."

The visit by these top BJP leaders occurs at a crucial juncture as the party strives to strengthen its organisational machinery in preparation for the Lok Sabha polls.

Internal discord and defections have plagued the BJP since the announcement of the 2021 assembly election results, with former Union Minister Babul Supriyo, party MP Arjun Singh, and six legislators, including national vice-president Mukul Roy, defecting to the TMC since the 2021 assembly polls.

In the 2021 elections, the TMC secured a resounding victory for the third consecutive term, winning 215 assembly seats, while the BJP secured 77.

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