BJP to be ‘aggressive’ in Bengal

New Delhi: The BJP has decided to go “all aggressive” in Mamata Banerjee-ruled West Bengal, where it claims to have lost nearly 20 of its cadres to the “political killing unleashed by the ruling TMC” over the recently concluded panchayat polls.

The saffron party emerged as the main rival to the ruling TMC in these panchayat polls, which the party feels is a major morale boost for its cadres. The BJP accused TMC of surpassing “the violent legacy of the communist rule” in the state after two of its workers were killed allegedly by TMC this week for supporting the saffron party in Purulia, one of the regions where the party gained significantly in the polls. BJP president Amit Shah has called a meeting of senior party leaders from the state in the coming days to finalise the strategy, which would also involve holding marches, rallies, mobilisation of the youth and intellectuals, and visits by senior leaders, including Union ministers, to the state to highlight how the “culturally and intellectually rich state has been facing the consequences of TMC’s vote bank politics.”

The saffron party claims that its presence is now at almost 70 per cent of the nearly 50,000 booths across the state, which is an indication of the growing support for it in West Bengal where its organisational strength was minimal before 2014.

While the BJP accuses the ruling TMC of resorting to appeasement politics, the former faces accusation from Ms Banerjee and her party of trying to implement its own Hindutva agenda.

Also, the RSS and its affiliates have been roped in to assist BJP’s efforts to increase its support base ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, with Sangh Parivar cadres from other states being deployed in West Bengal.

RSS man and party’s joint general secretary (or-ganisation) Shivprakash also plays a key role in formulating strategies for the state, which have contact programme for target groups. Mr Shah had earlier claimed that his party will win at least 22 of the total 44 parliamentary seats in West Bengal next year. The BJP claims that its support base has been increasing tremendously in the rural areas, which remain “underdeveloped” and looks at BJP as the “best alternative” to the TMC.

Also, the ongoing “non-political” campaign, “Save Bengal”, initiated by the BJP to reach out to the people in the state and also the “probashi” Bengalis in the country, is also receiving “tremendous support” from the intellectuals and significant people from different fields. Through this campaign, the BJP is tapping the voters, who it claims wants a change and development in the state.