Today in Politics: Amit Shah, JP Nadda in Kolkata to review BJP’s Bengal strategy; Nirmala Sitharaman to visit flood-hit TN district

In context: The flood management by the state government has allowed the BJP to target the DMK, the ruling party in the state and a key member of the INDIA alliance. The BJP has been trying to become electorally competitive in the state but has been so far unsuccessful in denting the hold of the Dravidian parties. The minister’s visit and the war of words over flood management come at a time when the DMK has been under attack over an old video of its MP Dayanidhi Maran in which he remarked that people hailing from the Hindi heartland states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh come to Tamil Nadu to do menial jobs such as cleaning toilets.

BJP’s Bengal roadmap

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda are in Kolkata for the day to assess the organisational landscape in West Bengal and prepare the party’s roadmap in West Bengal.

Shah and Nadda will visit a gurdwara in north Kolkata’s Jorasanko and Kalighat Temple in south Kolkata on Tuesday morning. In the afternoon, they are scheduled to hold meetings with the state leadership. After that, both leaders will attend a social media volunteer meeting at the National Library before departing for Delhi at night. Sources in the party have told The Indian Express that the leaders will send a strong message to the state leadership to end infighting and work as one unit in the run-up to the elections. In the last few months, BJP workers have staged a protest against a section of party leaders, including Bankura MP Subhas Sarkar. Recently, BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra also criticised the state leadership.

২৬শে ডিসেম্বর, ২০২৩ কেন্দ্রীয় স্বরাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রী শ্রী @AmitShah জী এবং বিজেপি সর্বভারতীয় সভাপতি শ্রী @JPNadda জীর সফরসূচি। pic.twitter.com/aMPXzzRpHJ

— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) December 25, 2023

The upshot: The BJP will be looking to overturn the organisational reverses it has suffered in the state since the Assembly elections in 2021 and ensure that it holds on to the 18 Lok Sabha seats it won in 2019. In April, Shah had set a target of winning 35 Lok Sabha seats from the state but given the condition the state organisation is in it seems to be a tough task at the moment. With the party having already maxed out in the Hindi heartland, where it has almost near dominance, Maharashtra, the southern states, and West Bengal are the only places where it can potentially increase its tally, thereby increasing its national haul.

PM’s schedule

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday will participate in a programme marking “Veer Baal Diwas”, which commemorates the martyrdom of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh. The PM will be at the Bharat Mandapam at 10.30 am and will also flag off a march-past by youth.

— With PTI inputs