Amit Shah gives Bengal BJP leaders a pep talk, sets roadmap for 2024 elections
Union home minister Amit Shah told the Bengal BJP leaders how he and other leaders had to struggle in Gujarat when the BJP was in the opposition but they kept at it
KOLKATA: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday asked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Bengal to hit the streets and prepare all organisational units down to the polling booth level for 2024 Lok Sabha polls, West Bengal BJP leaders said after Shah addressed them at a closed-door meeting.
“Shah said instead of waiting for the outcome of the 272 cases that the CBI is probing in Bengal, we should hit the streets and rejuvenate the spirit of party workers. He said it is no small achievement that a party that had only three legislators increased the rally to 77 last year. The workers are waiting for proper leadership, Shah told us, referring to the crowds he saw during his visit to north Bengal on Thursday,” a senior state BJP leader, who attended the meeting, said on condition of anonymity.
This was Shah’s first Bengal visit since the state election.
“There was no discussion on the cases being probed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate, the Centre’s plans to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the frequently raised demand for imposition of President’s rule in Bengal. Shah focused on organisational matters and placed his roadmap for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” the leader added. CAA offers citizenship to non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who entered India before 2015 but the rules needed to implement the law haven’t been notified yet.
“Shah said that as opposition leader in Gujarat, he faced physical assaults and was booked in many cases but he did not give up,” said a second Bengal BJP leader who attended the meeting. Earlier in the day, Amit Shah led the BJP’s sharp campaign against the ruling Trinamool Congress and chief minister Mamata Banerjee over the death of a BJP youth wing leader, Arjun Chaurasia, in north Kolkata. Shah, who was on the second and last day of his Bengal trip, made an unscheduled visit to the area and demanded a CBI probe. Shah alleged that it was a political murder and accused the state’s ruling TMC of unleashing terror after the 2021 assembly polls.
Shortly after meeting Chaurasia’s family, Shah addressed top state office-bearers, departmental heads, legislators and members of Parliament at a hotel on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata.
BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh addressed state leaders before Shah.
“Santhosh said all state office-bearers, MLAs and MPs must work together and some of them have to play leadership roles,” said a state BJP legislator. The remarks come against the backdrop of reports of dissent and divisions in the state unit in recent months.
In the evening, Shah attended a cultural event held by the Union ministry of culture at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial Hall to celebrate the inclusion of Bengal’s Durga Puja in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
At the event, Shah spoke on Bengal’s contribution to India’s freedom movement and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of India in 2047 when the country celebrates the 100th year of Independence. At Victoria Memorial Hall, a dance recital, depicting the different forms of Goddess Durga, was performed by Dona Ganguly, wife of Sourav Ganguly, former Indian cricket captain and incumbent BCCI president, and her troupe.
Shah and some BJP national leaders went to Ganguly’s residence at Behala in south-east Kolkata on Friday night to have dinner with his family. They spent around 50 minutes and enjoyed traditional Bengali cuisine.
“I know Shah since 2008. I also work with his son. This is a courtesy visit. He wanted to come earlier but it never worked out,” Ganguly told the media. Shah’s son, Jay Shah, is the secretary of the BCCI.
A senior Bengal BJP leader who did not want to be named said: “Ganguly and his wife had both invited Shah to their residence a long time ago. The Union home minister could not make it during his earlier visits to Kolkata. There is nothing more to it.” There were rumours before the last assembly polls that Ganguly might join the BJP.