KOLKATA: Ahead of Bengal polls, the BJP high command has engaged its five national leaders including Sunil Deodhar, who is known as the architect of the party’s success in Tripura, in the state to gauge the party’s booth-level strength.
The five leaders will work in the BJP’s five organisational zones across the state for a week and submit a report to the party high command which will then ascertain whether the reports are matching with the recent feedback given by the party’s Bengal functionaries.
The five leaders on Wednesday started holding organisational meetings. Deodhar has been asked to work in the Midnapore zone which is a significant battlefield for the saffron camp in next year’s election.
"Midnapore zone includes Nandigram and Singur. Nandigram movement had first hinted at the change in Left Front’s 34-year regime. And Singur agitation against forcible land acquisition for Tata Motors added fuel to fire. Recently, a rift among the Trinamool Congress’s local leaders and followers of transport minister Subhendu Adhikary is clearly visible in the Nandigram area and in the East Midnapore district. We are aiming to secure electoral dividend from and this is why Deodhar, the man for whom we came to power in Tripura, has been asked to work in Midnapore organisational zone," said a senior BJP leader in Kolkata.
BJP’s national secretary Harish Dwivedi has been given the task of measuring the party’s present strength in north Bengal. "We staged impressive performance in 2019 Lok Sabha elections by bagging 7 out of 8 seats in the region and our prime goal is to retain the pace of our onslaught. Dwivedi will hold a series of meetings with our karyakartas and workers," said the leader.
Vinod Tawde has been asked to work in Nabadwip organisational zone and Vinod Sonkar in the Junglemahal area. Dushyant Gautam will look after the party’s strength in Kolkata organisational zone.
"The reports of these five national leaders will be submitted to Union Home minister Amit Shah who considers the 2021 Assembly election a prestige fight. The fate of some Bengal functionaries might depend on the report of these leaders. The party high command wants to know whether the recent reports submitted by the Bengal leaders are an actual ground reality," said another BJP leader.