Shah meets BJP public representatives in Kolkata, invites 'backbencher' Dilip Ghosh for talks

Kolkata: Continuing on his agenda to take stock of the BJP West Bengal unit's preparedness for the assembly polls scheduled early next year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday laid down an action blueprint before the party's public representatives, past and present, while showcasing a unified face of the saffron camp, projecting former state president Dilip Ghosh as one of the main faces for the elections. Ghosh, who has largely stayed away from the forefront of the BJP's activities in the state over the past several months, was also invited to the closed-door meeting attended by the party's MPs, MLAs, civic body councillors and organisational portfolio holders.

Shah reportedly held a separate meeting with Ghosh, alongside another former state president Sukanta Majumdar, incumbent Samik Bhattacharya, and the state's leader of the opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, indicating bridging of gaps between the party's old guns and the newer ones. "I can't say much but you will see an active Dilip Ghosh in the 2026 polls. I was called to listen to my experiences and opinions," Ghosh told reporters while leaving the venue. Besides the state leaders, the meeting was also attended by the party's central observers for Bengal like Sunil Bansal, Bhupendra Yadav, Biplab Deb and Amit Malviya. According to a leader who attended the meeting, Shah instructed the public representatives to spend "at least four days a week and attend at least five street corner meetings daily" to strengthen their public outreach. The leaders must prove their worth to the party in the next two months to gain eligibility for tickets for the upcoming state elections, the leader said. Shah, considered the BJP's chief poll strategist, also listened to the party's 2024 Lok Sabha poll candidates about the advantages and difficulties they faced during their campaigns, the factors contributing to their wins and losses, and advised them to share their understandings of the assembly seats under the their respective parliamentary constituencies during poll run up, the leader said. About inviting Dilip Ghosh, who was perceived to have been pushed to the party's "back bench" after visuals of him meeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple complex in Digha earlier this year were splashed across TV screens, the leader said the so-called "cooling off" period must now be over for the leader and he is likely to play a crucial role for the party in the months ahead.

Ghosh, considered to be the most successful state president of BJP under whose leadership the party rose from three seats in the state assembly to over 70 and snatched 18 parliamentary seats in 2019, is also perceived to have a "firebrand" presence, whose aggressive campaign style the party plans to use during its electioneering process. "Everyone in the party is energised. We will win the 2026 polls and bring about true change in this state," Adhikari told reporters before walking into the meeting. On Tuesday, Shah set the tone for the high-stakes assembly polls, and launched a broadside against Mamata Banerjee, accusing her government of "dangerously altering" the state's demography by abetting the infiltration of Bangladeshis for electoral gains and indulging in widespread corruption. Setting the stage for the BJP's 2026 poll narrative, Shah also declared that the issue of infiltration would acquire the party's campaign centre stage. Following the party representatives' meet, Shah is scheduled to address a party workers' conference at a city auditorium and visit the Thantania Kali Temple in central Kolkata before departing for Delhi.