New Delhi: The most keenly awaited election for anyone would now be the Assembly polls of West Bengal next year. This time, it's on top of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) agenda.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for one-on-one meetings with all state MPs over the next few days.
At least eight to nine parliamentarians have already met Modi — the meetings have lasted from anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes, focusing not only on constituency-specific issues but also on the political scenario in the state. The MPs who have met Modi told News18 they have discussed threadbare the issues concerning their regions.
Modi is said to be keen to know about the impact of the central government schemes despite a strong opposition from the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress dispensation in Bengal. He has also reportedly taken feedback on what could be further done to help citizens.
West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who met Modi on Wednesday, said, “Our task is pretty much cut out. We are lucky to be guided by our top brass who have their ears strongly to the ground."
Ghosh was recently re-elected as state unit chief despite being criticised even by party MPs for repeatedly making controversial statements.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Bengal MPs Dr Jayanta Ray and Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato in New Delhi on Wednesday. (News18)
Another MP, Khagen Murmu, said Modi has stressed upon the need to further focus on strengthening the organisation. “The goal is well defined — Bengal needs ‘paribartan’ (change),” he said.
Modi is said to have told Darjeeling MP Raju Bista "'desh ke hit mein Bengal jeetna hi hoga' (in the interest of the nation, we need to win Bengal)".
Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah and national party president JP Nadda toured the state and held a rally in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Kolkata on March 1.
The ruling camp, led by Banerjee, has been vehemently protesting against the CAA, the National Population Register (NPR), and the proposed implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Nadda held a meeting with senior party functionaries after the rally and exhorted them to target victory in at least 200 Assembly seats in the state. Shah has told the Bengal leaders that he would spend at least three days with them every month for now, and from October, this would go up to no less than eight days.
In the 294-member Assembly, the TMC has 210 legislators, while the opposition Congress has 42 MLAs, the Left Front 28 and the BJP 14.
But over the last few years, the saffron camp has made huge inroads in the state, having won 18 Lok Sabha seats in the elections last year, up from just two in 2014.
Banerjee, who overthrew the 34-year-old Left Front government in the state in 2011 after successfully leading the Singur and Nandigram movements, is serving her second term as chief minister.
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