KOLKATA: The central leadership of BJP has made changes in the schedule of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s two-day visit to Bengal to welcome Suvendu Adhikari, the rebellious TMC leader who quit the party on Thursday.
It has now been decided that Shah, instead of holding a party meeting in Midnapore, will address a rally on December 19 to receive Adhikari and his followers, said BJP sources.
The rally will be held at the venue where TMC chief Mamata Banerjee attended a similar event last week.
Sources said besides Adhikari, prominent TMC functionaries, including East Burdwan MP Sunil Mondal and Pandaveswar MLA Jitendra Tiwari, will share the stage with Shah on December 19 and formally join the saffron camp.
Adhikari, an accused in the Narada scam, is under probe by the CBI. He postponed his Delhi visit as the BJP decided to welcome him to the party at the public rally in Midnapore.
"The decision of organising the rally at the same venue (Midnapore College ground) was strategically taken. Mamata kicked off her election campaign from Midnapore and delivered a message for those who want to join the BJP. At the same place, we will show our strength. She will see her party leaders are shifting their political allegiance in favour of our party," said a BJP leader.
Sources in the BJP’s Bengal unit said they came to know about the changes in Shah's schedule from the party’s national headquarters. "We have been asked not to hold the organisational meeting. Instead, there will be a public rally in the undivided Midnapore district to showcase the exodus from the TMC to the BJP. It will send a message ahead of the upcoming elections," said the BJP leader.
He, however, did not disclose how many TMC functionaries will shift their sides on the day of Shah’s rally. "The migration from the TMC will take place in phases. It will continue for a month. Prominent and key functionaries, both in state and districts level of the TMC, will come under BJP’s umbrella," the leader claimed.
Tiwari’s office in Pandeveswar was ransacked by TMC supporters after the news of his resignation spread.