By Express News Service
KOLKATA: In the backdrop of large-scale violence and a sharp drop of 16% in the vote share of the BJP in the just-concluded panchayat elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit West Bengal next month.
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, who returned to Kolkata on Saturday after meeting Shah in Delhi, said, “Amit-ji is expected to visit the state in August and the date will depend on his schedule. He is concerned about the prevailing situation in Bengal and he wants peace to return. He wants not a single death from any party anymore.”
The saffron camp’s Bengal chapter head said Shah is monitoring the deployment of central forces in Bengal. “The central force personnel, who were deployed in the state for the rural polls, will be stationed in Bengal for some more time,” he added.
Sources in the Bengal BJP said a list of strife-hit areas would be sent to the office of the Union Home Minister so that they can be added to his schedule during his Bengal visit.
ALSO READ | Lessons from the violent West Bengal panchayat poll
Shah termed the incidents in the rural polls that claimed 39 lives as “bloodcurdling” violence. “Even bloodcurdling violence in West Bengal could not stop the BJP from putting up a stellar performance in the panchayat election. The BJP nearly doubled its seat tally from the previous election, indicating a significant rise in the trust placed by the people,” he tweeted.
BJP functionaries in Bengal said Shah’s remark describing the party’s performance as a “significant rise” was compared to its tally in the 2018 rural polls.
“But we received a setback in the panchayat elections comparing to our vote share in the 2021 Assembly elections. Our party’s vote share came down to 22 per cent in the rural polls when we secured 38 per cent votes in the elections two years ago,” said a BJP leader in Kolkata, adding, “The statistics don’t reflect the real picture of the loss in our grassroot-level support base as we failed to submit nominations in many seats because of the TMC’s muscle flexing and the violence unleashed by the ruling party. But is is fact that we suffered significantly in the rural polls.”
The leader also pointed out that the party’s performance was disappointing in the constituencies of many of its MPs which is not a good sign before next year’s Lok Sabha elections. “During his last Bengal visit, Shah said in a public rally that the BJP would bag at last 35 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 but our performance in the rural polls was not in favour of the target,” he added.
KOLKATA: In the backdrop of large-scale violence and a sharp drop of 16% in the vote share of the BJP in the just-concluded panchayat elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit West Bengal next month.
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, who returned to Kolkata on Saturday after meeting Shah in Delhi, said, “Amit-ji is expected to visit the state in August and the date will depend on his schedule. He is concerned about the prevailing situation in Bengal and he wants peace to return. He wants not a single death from any party anymore.”
The saffron camp’s Bengal chapter head said Shah is monitoring the deployment of central forces in Bengal. “The central force personnel, who were deployed in the state for the rural polls, will be stationed in Bengal for some more time,” he added.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Sources in the Bengal BJP said a list of strife-hit areas would be sent to the office of the Union Home Minister so that they can be added to his schedule during his Bengal visit.
ALSO READ | Lessons from the violent West Bengal panchayat poll
Shah termed the incidents in the rural polls that claimed 39 lives as “bloodcurdling” violence. “Even bloodcurdling violence in West Bengal could not stop the BJP from putting up a stellar performance in the panchayat election. The BJP nearly doubled its seat tally from the previous election, indicating a significant rise in the trust placed by the people,” he tweeted.
BJP functionaries in Bengal said Shah’s remark describing the party’s performance as a “significant rise” was compared to its tally in the 2018 rural polls.
“But we received a setback in the panchayat elections comparing to our vote share in the 2021 Assembly elections. Our party’s vote share came down to 22 per cent in the rural polls when we secured 38 per cent votes in the elections two years ago,” said a BJP leader in Kolkata, adding, “The statistics don’t reflect the real picture of the loss in our grassroot-level support base as we failed to submit nominations in many seats because of the TMC’s muscle flexing and the violence unleashed by the ruling party. But is is fact that we suffered significantly in the rural polls.”
The leader also pointed out that the party’s performance was disappointing in the constituencies of many of its MPs which is not a good sign before next year’s Lok Sabha elections. “During his last Bengal visit, Shah said in a public rally that the BJP would bag at last 35 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 but our performance in the rural polls was not in favour of the target,” he added.
