BackAmit Shah sets Bengal BJP steep target of winning at least 50% of 42 LS seats in 2019 election
BJP president Amit Shah sets the party's Bengal unit steep target of winning at least 50% of 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 election
Premium
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Wednesday set the West Bengal unit a steep target of winning at least half of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections.
In a report, the BJP’s state unit had identified 22 constituencies as ones where the party has a fighting chance, but Shah was not impressed and demanded a detailed explanation for the view by Wednesday evening, according to local leaders who asked not to be identified.
The BJP president asked the state unit to strive to win everywhere so that the party could wrest at least half the seats.
The BJP had won two constituencies in West Bengal in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. It has since gained ground and emerged as the main opposition party in the state, ahead of the Left parties and the Congress.
The Trinamool Congress, which is looking to sweep the 2019 polls, said the target set by Shah is unrealistic. Partha Chatterjee, general secretary of the Trinamool Congress and a minister in the state, said even BJP workers are aware that what Shah is aiming for is “unrealistic".
The BJP will lose even the Asansol and Darjeeling constituencies it had won in 2014, claimed Chatterjee.
The BJP in West Bengal has 37 district-level units. To shore up the party’s organisational strength, Shah said each of these units should be led by three leaders. Also, in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, long marches, or jathas, should be taken out from each constituency, he said.
Shah asked the BJP’s local leadership to look beyond the 2019 general elections, referring to the next assembly elections in the state in 2021.
The BJP president took on the Congress at a public meeting in Kolkata, saying the party had selected only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram as the national song and that that was at the root of India’s partition, without elaborating.
On Thursday, Shah will visit Purulia district, where in the recent panchayat elections the BJP made significant gains with the support of the local tribal population. The BJP leader will address a public rally there.
The Trinamool Congress has also announced that it will hold a rally in Purulia within days. Former BJP state president Rahul Sinha said this was a clear indication that the Trinamool Congress is rattled by Shah’s visit to Purulia.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
