It’s a year after the West Bengal assembly poll results that union home minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah will be visiting the state for the first time. The north bengal region, where the Bharatiya Janata Party had won seven of the eight Lok Sabha seats in 2019, will be in special focus. After all, despite losing last year’s assembly elections, the BJP bagged 30 of the 54 seats here.
The past year has not been a good one for the state BJP: many leaders who had switched over from the Trinamool Congress have gone back, faction fights are on, and the TMC’s claim that its rival had lost ground in north Bengal became evident during recent municipal polls that were swept by the ruling party. In such a situation, local leaders hope Shah will inject some energy into the BJP cadres battered by incidents of violence allegedly orchestrated by people with links to Trinamool.
The union home minister has a packed schedule for Thursday and Friday. He will visit the south Bengal border outpost of Hingalganj and north Bengal’s Teen Bigha corridor. He will also participate in a cultural program at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial. He will also have separate meetings with party leaders in north Bengal and also in the state capital. A key event will be the political meeting that Shah will hold at the Jalpaiguri Railway Maidan.
The city of Siliguri in north Bengal is all decked up to welcome Shah. Here, he will pay homage to Everest conqueror Tenzing Norgay and Rajbongshi leader Panchanan Thakur and then go to a political meeting. Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, who is behind the organization of this meeting, spoke exclusively to News18 about the significance of Shah’s visit, the BJP’s situation in Bengal, and the “big announcement” expected soon.
What’s the mood and arrangement for tomorrow’s meeting?
We are very happy. The way we will welcome him, everyone will see. He will definitely give us a boost. North Bengal people are always with Narendra Modiji and BJP. Moreover, law and order is not there around here. It has become a bomb-making factory. People know that Shahji has all the solutions. That’s why more than 50,000 people will come here to welcome him.
What are you expecting to hear from him?
Bengal is known for violence, and the amount of violence that has taken place is intolerable. The central government and Shah know everything about this place, and we expect he will give us some direction.
After 2021 you have lost all municipalities in north Bengal. Why?
The party which is in power gets the votes. We did perform well in 2019 and 2021. Also, we gave 30 MLAs from this region. People are intimidated and votes are influenced.
Why are people leaving the BJP?
There are leaders who feel they are bigger than the party; that is not right. We have to take lessons. I am working with honesty. The BJP is the biggest party, and some people may go, it hardly matters.
People from the BJP are demanding a separate state for this region? Is this right?
Justice has not been done with the people here. Mamata Banerjee has given 15 per cent of the land to industrialists. When an AIIMS was planned here, the state took it to south Bengal. North Bengal has always been denied all these facilities. No education, no health. I stand by what my people feel. The home minister knows about this and will make a decision.
What happens to the Darjeeling solution?
Whatever is written in our manifesto…A permanent solution will be implemented. Very soon a big announcement on Darjeeling, Terai, Dooars will take place. A solution on Darjeeling will come according to the Indian constitution.
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