Kolkata: With the West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled later this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit the state for two days in the third week of February, according to a senior state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.
Party sources said Shah is expected to arrive in Kolkata either on the night of February 17 or the morning of February 18 and return to New Delhi on February 19. Unlike his previous visit to the state at the end of January — when he addressed public rallies and party workers’ meetings in Barrackpore and Siliguri — this trip is expected to focus solely on internal organisational and administrative discussions.
A state BJP committee member said the visit coincides with the Higher Secondary examinations conducted by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, which is why no public rally has been planned this time.
During the visit, Shah is likely to review the BJP’s organisational preparedness and outline responsibilities for senior party leaders, including Members of Parliament and legislators. The leader added that discussions may also cover strategies for strengthening grassroots presence ahead of the polls.
The development comes soon after newly appointed state BJP president Nitin Nabin held a meeting with party MPs from West Bengal, urging them to focus more intensively on their respective constituencies in view of the upcoming elections. Shah is expected to further define the roles and assignments of MPs and MLAs during his visit.
There is also a possibility of preliminary deliberations on criteria for selecting candidates for the state’s 294 Assembly constituencies.
Political observers note that the recent visits to West Bengal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Nitin Nabin, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah — even before election dates have been announced — signal the party’s strong focus on the state. In January, Prime Minister Modi addressed rallies in Malda and Singur, while Nabin visited the state later that month and addressed a public meeting in Durgapur.