After the convoy of JP Nadda was attacked while it was going for a rally in Diamond Harbour, it was blamed that the attack was staged by BJP leadership for drawing attention to law and order issue. Subsequently, BJP has got more desperate to make inroads into the Bengal polity. Prior to the state’s crucial assembly polls in 2021, BJP has come up with separate cells that would maintain liaison with certain target groups. This development comes in parallel to JP Nadda being tested positive for Covid19.

Central leaders, including Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda, among others, who would be camping in the state in the run-up to the elections would meet the members of these groups. Nadda would probably camp in the state after his home quarantine ends after testing positive for Coronavirus- disease.

While Nadda met members of the fishermen community in South 24-Parganas during his two-day visit to the state, Shah had lunch with a Matua family in Bengal in early-November. Shah is expected to visit Bengal again next week and is likely to visit Bongaon in North 24-Parganas district, which houses the headquarters of the Matuas, a Dalit refugee group with origins in Bangladesh and spread over 50 assembly seats in the state.

Multiple cells have been formed to work with and maintain liaison with various target groups including teachers, doctors, traders, ex-servicemen, sportsmen, and fishermen, among others. Each cell would have one convener and between one to six co-converners.

TMC has recently begun its outreach campaign to highlight its welfare programmes, which is giving a blow to the efforts of BJP to polarize the voters.

Also see: West Bengal election 2021: Battleground for TMC & BJP

A senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity stated, “As each community has its own set of issues and problems. Each cell working with a particular community would be well-versed with the developments in that community. When our central leaders come to Bengal and meet and interact with these communities, the cells will maintain the liaison.”

Shah and Nadda are expected to visit the state separately every month till the assembly elections are over. Shah who is expected to visit the state next week could also visit Shantiniketan.

Buoyed by its impressive gains in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections where the BJP had won 40% of the vote share in Bengal and had bagged 18 out of the 42 seats in the state, the party is now eyeing for the state assembly.

But, politically speaking, things do not look that great for the saffron party with Bimal Gurung having recently switched to the TMC camp. Gurung had stated that BJP had failed to keep promises in the context of the Gorkhaland issue, and hence GJM led by him is now poised to support the TMC. Recently, Dilip Ghosh of BJP had tried to bring Chatradhar Mahato under the saffron party by promising respect, which he claimed, is absent in the TMC camp. Coaxing outreach by the central home minister to cajole and polarize voters in the favour of the saffron party in the Jangalmahal has been countered by the Bengal CM by providing welfare programmes and jobs.

Top state office-bearers of the saffron party with knowledge of the development said that 294 BJP leaders will be arriving in Bengal from Delhi and other states to work with the local unit for polls. The office-bearers said that the arriving leaders would be part of a 45-member team to be set up for each constituency & existing district committees will assist these teams.