Explained: Important week for BJP in West Bengal ahead of the seventh and final phase

While BJP national president Amit Shah will hold three election rallies, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union minister Smriti Irani will address three and two rallies respectively. The party is also making preparations to conduct a road show of Shah in Kolkata.

Out of 59 seats which will go to polls in the seventh phase on May 19, nine are from Bengal. (File photo)

With 17th Lok Sabha election entering into the final lap, the BJP is making an all-out effort to intensify election campaigning in West Bengal. Out of 59 seats which will go to polls in the seventh phase on May 19, nine are from Bengal. The BJP has lined up over a dozen public meetings in the next week which will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding four election rallies.

While BJP national president Amit Shah will hold three election rallies, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union minister Smriti Irani will address three and two rallies respectively. The party is also making preparations to conduct a road show of Shah in Kolkata. The nine seats include four constituencies in South 24 Parganas district, three in North 24 Parganas district and two in Kolkata.

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The fate of Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and party’s Diamond Harbour seat, will be decided in the seventh phase while BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha will explore chances to win Kolkata North seat. According to political observers, the seventh and final phase holds the key for BJP to maximise its seats from the state. “The party has set a target of 23 seats from Bengal. A large number of their targeted seats will go to polls in the seventh phase. This is the reason why they are going at full stretch in West Bengal ahead of the final phase,” said the political observer.

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Among nine seats, BJP has laid special focus on Dum Dum, Basirhat, Kolkata North, Mathurapur and Diamond Harbour constituencies. The TMC, on the other hand, has also lined up a series of public meetings of party chief Mamata Banerjee and a possible roadshow in Kolkata. The party is clearly ahead of its Opposition parties in Kolkata South, Barasat, Joynagar and Jadavpur constituencies. The fate of the party’s greenhorn candidates and Tollywood actress Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty from Basirhat and Jadavpur constituencies will also be decided on May 19.