What Amit Shah told Bengal BJP in Assembly poll strategy meeting, and the ‘return’ of a key leader
At a series of meetings with party leaders and workers in Kolkata, Union Home Minister firms up game plan and campaign narratives for the coming elections, asks them to put aside “internal differences” and work as a team
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Bengal BJP leaders, addressing a press conference in Kolkata on Tuesday. (Partha Paul) Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a crucial meeting with the West Bengal BJP’s top leaders on the sidelines of a larger meeting with the party MLAs, MPs and office-bearers in Kolkata on Wednesday, which marked the third day of his visit to the state ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
State BJP president Shamik Bhattacharya, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, and two former state party chiefs Dilip Ghosh and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar met with Shah during the day. Senior BJP central leaders, including national party general secretary Sunil Bansal, Union minister Bhupendra Yadav, MP Biplab Deb and national general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh, were also in attendance.
According to sources, Shah asked the Bengal party brass at the meeting to “keep aside all differences” and work together as a team to “lead the party to victory” in the Assembly polls slated for April-May 2026. Party insiders described the meeting as an attempt to “bridge the gap between the old and the new state party leadership”.
Dilip Ghosh’s ‘return’
After the meeting, Dilip Ghosh, who had largely stayed away from the state BJP’s activities in recent months, told the media, “I had been invited to share my experiences and I listened to the Union Home Minister. I cannot say much but you will see an active Dilip Ghosh in the 2026 elections.”
The meeting signalled a thaw between Ghosh and the state party leadership, whose relations were strained after the former met Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee in Digha during the inauguration of the Jagannath temple there in May this year.
Sources said given Ghosh’s “ground support and popularity” across the state, particularly in the Medinipur belt from where he had been elected as an MLA and MP in the past, a large section of the party feels that his involvement in the party affairs will be crucial in the Assembly polls.
Ghosh is considered to be the most successful state BJP president so far, under whose leadership from 2015 to 2021 the party grew from just 3 of 294 seats in the 2016 Assembly polls to 77 in the 2021 polls, besides winning 18 Lok Sabha seats of a total 42 in 2019.
An old RSS hand, Ghosh is also viewed as a “firebrand” leader known for his “aggressive campaign style”, who, sources said, the party plans to deploy actively for its electioneering in the upcoming polls.
2026 poll blueprint
At both meetings Wednesday, Shah laid out the BJP’s blueprint for the Assembly elections, which focused on setting aside “internal differences” to put forward a united front, sources said.
Shah instructed all party MLAs, MPs, and former elected public representatives, to expand their presence by spending at least four days a week on the ground, holding five to six rallies or corner meetings per day, and going door-to-door to meet voters across the state.
While asking the BJP leaders to hear people’s grievances, he also told them to address issues raised by the booth-level party workers. With these targets in mind, Shah said that ticket aspirants will have to “prove themselves” over the next two months.
Amid the Election Commission (EC)’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls, Shah also called for more SIR camps to be set up, particularly aimed at the Matua community concentrated along the Bangladesh border, adding that the BJP workers should be seen providing assistance to them.
With a large number of Matua names reportedly deleted from the draft electoral rolls, the BJP is paying special attention to the community over which the Thakur family, led by BJP and TMC leaders, holds considerable influence.
Shah also listened to concerns faced by the party’s 2024 Lok Sabha candidates during their campaigns. The BJP’s current and former MPs from the state, and its losing candidates in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when the party could win only 12 seats, were invited to discuss the factors that contributed to their wins and losses. According to a senior leader, Shah advised them to share their understanding with the party’s rank and file, including the booth-level workers, of the Assembly seats under their respective parliamentary constituencies.
As for setting the narrative for the 2026 polls, BJP sources at the meetings said the Union Home Minister asked the party leaders to focus on two main campaign issues: the “infiltration” of Bangladeshis in the state and the TMC’s “corruption”.
In its poll campaign, the state BJP would make the pitch that Bengal’s demography was changing due to “continuous infiltration”, which the party alleges has the backing of the TMC.
Later in the day, Shah also held a meeting with the BJP’s booth-level workers in Kolkata, where he set a target of winning 20 of the city’s 28 Assembly seats. He said the party workers must convince voters that even Kolkata is not immune to “infiltration” and “demographic change”.
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