The West Bengal BJP has chalked out a new campaign strategy for the Lok Sabha elections by planning to bring more of its national leaders, particularly Gujarat Chief Minister and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, to public meetings after seeing the response of the people.
After getting favourable reports from 10 constituencies where polls have been held in north Bengal, the state leadership took stock of the situation in other parts of West Bengal.
Modi will address a public meeting on Sunday at Sreerampur stadium in Hooghly district. The party does not have a strong organisation in this district but the response Bollywood music director and BJP nominee for Sreerampur Lok Sabha seat Bappi Lahiri is getting has even surprised many state BJP leaders.
Lahiri’s name was announced at the last moment but from the first day of his campaign, he has been drawing large crowds. Thousands of people mainly youth are thronging to his road shows and he has been pleasing them by singing few lines from his hit numbers.
The way Lahiri has connected with the people in his constituency, the sitting Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee, who is also facing protests during his campaign in the villages about lack of basic amenities, seems to have lost his sleep.
BJP state secretary Ritesh Tewari said, “Modiji will hold a public meeting in support of our three nominees in Hooghly district as well as two more from the adjoining district of Howrah. The way people are coming out in large numbers in BJP’s support, we are confident of winning these seats.”
Other than Lahiri, the BJP has fielded one of its Rajya Sabha MPs and editor of The Pioneer Chandan Mitra, for the Hooghly Lok Sabha seat. Both Sreerampur and Hooghly had been Left strongholds but in the 2009 polls, Trinamool Congress nominees won these seats.
A BJP leader pointed out that in 2009 there was an alliance between the Congress and the TMC but this time contests in all 42 seats in West Bengal are four-cornered with all the main parties fielding their candidates and as such the party is hopeful.
Modi’s meeting in February at the Brigade Parade Ground here drew a reasonable crowd but the BJP state leadership was happy as it took more than 10 lakh of people to fill in that ground.
His April 10 meeting at Matigara near Siliguri town in north Bengal was a big success as people from faraway tea gardens and villages had come on their own in the morning and remained till the end.
That meeting has raised hopes of the BJP leaders as they feel there was a strong “ pro- Modi under-current” and with passing of each day the voters in this state are turning around in their favour. With three more phases of polling remaining for 32 Lok Sabha seats, they want to boost the morale of their workers by organising more public meetings. Modi will also attend an election rally at Krishnanangar in favour of BJP nominee Satyabrata Mukherjee on May 5. Mukherjee had won from this constituency in 1999 and was an Union minister in former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet.
Other than Darjeeling, where polling is over, the BJP is confident of winning this seat as it falls within Nadia district, which has borders with Bangladesh, and the party has been having a strong organisation here for a long time. Moreover, during his ministership Mukherjee had done a lot of developmental work and enjoys popularity among the electorate.
The state BJP is also planning a public meeting of Modi in Asansol Lok Sabha constituency where its nominee is famous Bollywood play back singer Babul Supriyo. He too has been drawing large crowds during his campaign and road shows.
“The TMC in Asansol is shaky seeing the large turnout of people of young age in Babul’s programmes. Sensing defeat the administration has slapped false criminal cases against Babul. But that has boomeranged and increased Babul’s popularity in Asansol,” said a BJP leader.
Not only Modi, but the state leadership has planned to hold a series of public meetings which will be addressed by other top leaders like BJP president Rajnath Singh, L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj.
These meetings will be in south Bengal, in the industrial region on the western part of the state and also in districts adjoining this metropolis. State BJP general secretary Akhil Sarakar said, “There is a Modi wave here too like in other states. We would do unexpectedly well this time. Other than our traditional voters in West Bengal, we have gained large numbers during the last one year itself.”
