Amit Shah sets uphill target for state leaders

Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah kick-started his two-day tour of West Bengal on Wednesday by setting a daunting target for the party’s state leadership. The BJP, he told them, must win 50 per cent of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state “without fail” in 2019.

Mr Shah ruled out any “understanding” with the Trinamul Congress which has 34 MPs in sharp contrast to the BJP’s tally of only two: Asansol and Darjeeling.

Mr Shah arrived at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday afternoon where he was greeted by state BJP president Dilip Ghosh and other leaders.

Later, at the Kolkata Port Trust guest house in south Kolkata, he held a meeting with Mr Ghosh, senior BJP leaders Mukul Roy and Rahul Sinha, Union minister Babul Supriyo and Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly to discuss elections.

Mr Shah reportedly made it clear to them that the BJP has to win at least 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in 2019 without fail, and that no excuses would be entertained for failure, sources disclosed.

According to the BJP chief, success will come only when the state leadership is geared up for an all-out fight with the ruling Trinamul Congress in all the seats, sources revealed.

Mr Shah dismissed questions about any possible political understanding with the Trinamul Congress ahead of Lok Sabha polls, sources said.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments on the violence during panchayat elections in the state, Mr Shah said that there should be no softening of stand against the Trinamul.

To strengthen the party’s organisation, he enquired about the places where BJP workers were attacked and why. He also discussed factors that had led to the party’s success in places like Jangalmahal.

In what came as an embarrassment to state BJP leaders, Mr Shah enquired why the party was not being able to build booth committees in the state although its vote share had grown in some districts.

After the meeting, Mr Shah travelled to Sarat Sadan in Howrah where he held another meeting with the state’s social media team to chalk out the party’s online campaigns ahead of LS polls.

On Thursday, Mr Shah will travel to Birbhum, a stronghold of the Trinamul, where he will offer prayers at Tarapeath. He will then head for Purulia which registered a significant rise in the BJP’s votebank in panchayat polls.

Three BJP workers were killed allegedly by Trinamul-backed miscreants recently in Jangalmahal district. Mr Shah is also scheduled to address a rally at Balarampur in the last leg of his tour.