Amit Shah's rallies in Chetla, Bhowanipore turn flop

Kolkata: The roadshows of Union Home minister Amit Shah in Bhowanipore and Chetla on Friday flopped as only a few BJP supporters turned up for both the rallies.

Sources claimed being disgusted with the party supporters, Shah ended the shows in haste and left for Howrah to attend other party programmes.

Shah visited the slums on Bakul Bagan Row and Shyamananda Road under Bhowanipore Assembly constituency, which is a Trinamool Congress (TMC) stronghold. Veteran Trinamool leader and four-time MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay is contesting against Trinamool turncoat and BJP candidate Rudranil Ghosh.

Shah distributed pamphlets and urged people to vote for BJP to bring about a change in Bengal. Both areas were under heavy security cover and policemen were posted at the slums from Friday morning. Shah came around 1.45 pm.

Sources said barely 20 youths accompanied Shah as he walked down Shyamananda Road distributing pamphlets. "Despite assurances given by the local BJP leaders, the party workers did not turn up and Shah got into the vehicle and left the place in haste," sources added.

Meanwhile, TMC leader Firhad Hakim said BJP was fast losing ground and the party's national leaders had realised that winning Bengal would remain a distant dream for them. Bhowanipore and parts of Chetla, which come under Bhowanipore Assembly constituency, are traditional Congress seats. But, people shifted their allegiance to TMC in 2011. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, TMC took a lead of over 3,000 votes from Bhowanipore segment, which is a part of South Kolkata Parliamentary constituency.

Political analysts opined that BJP had no organisation in Bhowanipore.