Amit Shah likely to be in Bengal this weekend

Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to make a visit to West Bengal this weekend in the wake of the forthcoming three-tier panchayat elections in the state, BJP sources said.

A member of the state committee of BJP said that the Minister is likely to arrive in Kolkata on Friday morning after which he is expected to attend a rallt in Birbhum.

"In the afternoon, he is scheduled to return to Kolkata and later in the evening, Shah is expected to have a meeting with the state BJP core committee members. The next day he is scheduled to offer prayers at the Dakshineswar Kali Temple and will return to Delhi later," the member said.

He added that in the recent past, a number of scheduled trip of the Union Home Minister had been cancelled at the last moment.

"But we are hopeful that he will visit this time finally. He is expected to give directions to the state party leaders of the strategy in view of the panchayat polls this year as well as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," the state committee member said.

Political observers feel that the choice of Birbhum as the proposed venue for the rally is quite interesting.

It comes in the absence of the Trinamool Congress's district president Anubrata Mondal, who is currently lodged at the Tihar Jail for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal.

In the backdrop of the development, the saffron camp has decided to focus on this district, the observers noted.

Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari has already expressed confidence of the BJP winning both the Lok Sabha constituencies in Birbhum next year.