Shah likely to visit Bengal by month-end

Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to pay a two-day visit to West Bengal by the month-end to take a stock of the BJP’s preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections in the state.

“The Union home minister was originally scheduled for a two- day visit to West Bengal by the end of January. However, the proposed visit had to be cancelled because of his engagements because of the changed political situation in Bihar. And now if everything goes as per schedule the Union home minister is likely to come to the state with a two-day schedule on February 29,” said a state committee member of BJP.

Although the exact schedule of Shah during his two-day visit is yet to be finalised, party insiders said that in all probability besides holding meetings with the party’s top functionaries in West Bengal, there is a possibility of the Union home minister addressing a couple of rallies in the districts.

Party insiders said the reason of fixing February 29 as the tentative date of his arrival to the state is because by that date both the secondary examination conducted by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Examination (WBBSE) and the higher secondary examination conducted by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) will be over.

Political observers feel that the scheduled visit of the Union home minister is crucial as it is expected that he would detail the final blueprint of the party's campaign and strategy for the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Last time, when the Union home minister visited West Bengal, he had set a target for 35 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. Since then several national leaders have been regularly visiting West Bengal and conducting political programmes here.