Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived here on Wednesday and he is likely to visit Bankura district on Thursday where he will hold a meeting with party supporters and representatives of different communities. On Friday, the former BJP president will visit the Dakhineshwar Kali temple and meet vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty.
“I will arrive in West Bengal today [on Wednesday] on a two-day visit. I look forward to exchanging views with party functionaries, people of West Bengal, media friends and representatives of different communities,” a translation of Mr. Shah’s tweet in Bengali read.
The visit of the Union Home Minister, which comes almost after a year, has assumed significance in the wake of the Assembly elections scheduled next year. Last month BJP president J.P. Nadda visited northern districts West Bengal.
But more than Mr. Shah’s organisational meetings, it is the lunch venue that has generated a lot of debate. On Thursday, Mr. Shah will have lunch at the house of Bibhishan Mandi, a tribal, at Chaturdihi village in Bankura district. On Friday, he will be at the house of Navin Biswas, a member of the Matua sect, from Jyoti Nagar in North 24 Parganas district.
The symbolism behind the visit to a tribal and Matua houses is significant. The tribal population of both north Bengal and south Bengal and Matuas voted largely in support of the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The party wants to consolidate on the support of both the groups before the State goes to polls.
