Shah to visit Murshidabad, Trinamool may hold a counter rally

Kolkata: With the dust yet to settle over the recent Birbhum visit of Union Home minister Amit Shah which had led to TMC and BJP locking horns over several issues, sources said Shah is expected to soon visit Murshidabad.

Shah’s last visit led to sabre rattling between TMC and BJP over his claim of getting 35 seats from Bengal in the 2024 Lok Sabha which may result in the collapse of Mamata Banerjee’s government in 2025 before the 2026 Assembly elections.

The Trinamool supremo has demanded Shah’s resignation, with her party questioning if the Union Home minister is planning to topple a functioning state government.

Amid this, Shah’s visit to Murshidabad may pave the way for another round of political clash between the two parties.

Sources said he will be arriving in Kolkata on May 8 and is likely to address the rally in Murshidabad on that day itself. He is also expected to hold a meeting with the top-rung leaders of the BJP’s state unit. Political observers in the state believe that his visit to Murshidabad is a calculated move and was expected since the BJP is gearing up to take advantage of TMC’s recent debacle in the Sagardighi bypolls which has dented the party’s minority vote bank.

Following Sagardighi by-polls where the Left-backed candidate of Congress secured a victory, Mamata had warned her district party leaders, alleging that Congress is misleading the minorities in Murshidabad in alleged collusion with the RSS.

Further, the arrest of TMC’s MLA Jiban Saha from Murshidabad in connection with recruitment corruption has given fodder to the saffron brigade before the Panchayat polls. TMC sources said that the party is gearing up for a possible counter-rally. TMC leaders in Murshidabad such as MP Khalilur Rahman, and Abu Taher Khan have been instructed to inform the people about how the Centre is depriving Bengal of its due funds which include MGNREGA.

It is learnt that there is a large number of workers in Murshidabad who are yet to get their wages. Sources said that during the visit of a central inspection team in Murshidabad, several of these 100-day workers had cornered members of the team, demanding their wages.