File photo: Union minister Amit Shah
NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah has asked BJP public representatives in West Bengal to step up grassroots outreach as the party prepares for the high-stakes assembly elections due in the next four months. Shah directed MPs, MLAs and local representatives to spend at least four days every week in their constituencies and hold a minimum of five street-corner meetings daily.During a closed-door meeting with party MPs, MLAs, civic body councillors and organisational office-bearers on Wednesday, Shah laid down clear performance benchmarks. He told leaders they must “prove their worth” to be considered for party tickets in the upcoming polls, a senior party leader present at the meeting said, according to news agency PTI.Calling for unity within the party, Shah also indicated that former state BJP president Dilip Ghosh would be one of the key faces of the party in the elections. Ghosh, who has largely remained out of the spotlight in recent months, was invited to the meeting, signalling his renewed role in the party’s campaign. Shah also held a separate interaction with Ghosh, former state chief Sukanta Majumdar, current state president Samik Bhattacharya and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, pointing to efforts to bridge gaps between senior and newer leaders. “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, as quoted by PTI. Adhikari, expressing confidence ahead of the meeting, said, “Everyone in the party is energised. We will win the 2026 polls and bring about true change in this state.”Shah, who is seen as the BJP’s chief election strategist, also heard feedback from the party’s 2024 Lok Sabha candidates about their campaign experiences, including factors behind wins and losses. He asked them to share detailed assessments of assembly segments under their parliamentary constituencies as part of preparations for next year’s polls. The meeting was aimed at reviewing the organisational readiness of the BJP’s West Bengal unit.Senior BJP MP Khagen Murmu said he conveyed his resolve to fight the Trinamool Congress government despite facing alleged attacks during a recent visit to a flood-affected area. “Despite being beaten up by TMC goons… I am not afraid,” he said, adding that people were with the BJP, as per PTI.Another senior leader said Shah stressed intensive booth-level mobilisation and the deployment of ‘vistaraks’ across all constituencies to strengthen the party’s base. He also told leaders that Shah would spend a few days every month in Kolkata in the run-up to the 2026 elections.Shah also invoked figures such as Swami Vivekananda, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore, promising to revive Bengal’s heritage and culture after forming a BJP government, the leader said. Earlier, Shah had launched a sharp attack on chief minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her government of corruption and altering the state’s demography through infiltration, an issue he said would be central to the BJP’s campaign.Following the meeting, Shah addressed a party workers’ conference in Kolkata and visited the Thantania Kali Temple before returning to Delhi.
