Amit Shah likely to visit Bengal again in May

Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit West Bengal again in May, sources said on Saturday.

In all probability, the occasion will be on May 9 when the country will be celebrating the birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

Sources from the BJP state committee said that they have requested the minister to visit the state often. To which, the minister had expressed his desire to come to the state again on May 9 and attend the function celebrating Tagore's birthday.

"Although nothing has been finalised, there is a possibility that if the Union minister comes to the state again next month, he might also address a rally besides participating in a function celebrating Tagore's birthday," a state committee member said.

Currently, Shah is on a two-day state visit and is slated to return to the national capital on Saturday.

Notably, while addressing a public rally at Suri in Birbhum district on Friday, he said that if the people gifts BJP 35 of the 42 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool Congress government will collapse much before the end of its scheduled tenure.

During the speech, his attack against Trinamool Congress and the state government were mainly on two points, namely the incidents of scams, especially in recruitments and the recent clashes over Ram Navami processions in the state.

After coming back to Kolkata on Friday evening, he offered prayers at the Dakshineswar Kali Temple founded by legendary philanthropist Rani Rashmoni and known for its association with Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Sarada Devi.

The same night, he met the top leaders of state BJP, where the minister was requested to visit the state more frequently.

Party sources said that during the meeting, Shah also said that the clean image, loyalty to the party and acceptability among the local people should be prime considerations in selecting candidates for the forthcoming polls for the three-tier panchayat system in West Bengal scheduled this year.