BJP to up the ante in Bengal

To launch State-level campaign to widen base

June 09, 2014 10:13 am | Updated 10:13 am IST - KOLKATA:

At the conclusion of its two-day long State Committee meeting here on Sunday, BJP’s co-observer in West Bengal Siddharth Nath Singh said that his party has decided to take up several programmes to step up its activities in West Bengal.

Claiming that the BJP has “occupied the main opposition space” in the State, he said the strategy to strengthen the party’s “booth-level organisation” was discussed at the meeting along with issues such as the Trinamool Congress’ increasing violence and “screening process” for those who want to join BJP from other parties.

In a bid to up the ante against the TMC government, the BJP decided to organise protests in every district across the State against the “high-level corruption” that allegedly took place in the recruitment of teachers through the School Service Commission. But the date of the protest will be decided by the BJP district leadership.

The party will also launch a State-wide campaign drive at the block-level to strengthen its mass base by communicating to the people “the development plans for the State taken up by the Centre and the duties which the State government has failed to perform.” Pamphlets will also be distributed in this regard, Mr. Singh told journalists. The campaign will start on the death anniversary of BJP’s ideologue Syama Prasad Mukherjee on June 23 and conclude on his birth anniversary on July 6.

On June 23, the BJP will take out a “historic save Bengal rally”, led by Mr. Sinha in the city. Similar rallies will be taken out in districts.

Mr. Singh said that the primary aim for the BJP in the State was to create a “TMC-free Bengal in the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi has almost succeeded in creating a Congress-free India.” BJP’s central leadership will also help the party’s State unit in this regard.

Describing the TMC’s triumph in the 2011 Assembly elections as a “semi final paribartan” (change), which did not turn out to be very good for the State, Mr. Singh said “in 2016 we will bring final paribartan in West Bengal.”

He claimed that despite having bagged 34 seats in the State, TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee is “agitated and nervous because not only the Bengali and non Bengali voters in the State but also a substantial portion of Muslim voters have given their mandate in favour of the BJP.”

Mr. Singh also said that without its Muslim vote bank, the TMC would be “reduced to zero.” Accusing the TMC of large-scale rigging, he said, “The TMC would have got only 29 per cent votes in the State without rigging and the rest of the ten per cent votes would have gone to the BJP.

As for protesters against the gang rape and murder of a college student in Kamduni in North 24 Parganas district last year approaching the State BJP to facilitate a visit with Mr. Modi or Home Minister Rajnath Singh, he said, “State president Rahul Sinha will try to take up the matter to the Home Minister.”

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