Amidst the ongoing farmers’ protests along the Delhi border and ahead of the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, Home Minister Amit Shah is all set to reach out to the farmers in the state and allay their fears over the new Farm Bills.
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— Payal Mehta/પાયલ મેહતા/ पायल मेहता/ পাযেল মেহতা (@payalmehta100) December 16, 2020
On his first day tour to Bengal on 19th December in Purva Medinipur Home Minister @AmitShah is scheduled to eat lunch at the residence of a farmer….this is to be followed by a big rally in support of #FarmBills2020
Shah is scheduled to have lunch at a residence of a farmer on his first day of the tour to Bengal on 19th December in East Midnapore town and that would be followed by a big rally in support of the agriculture laws that were passed by the Modi government in September 2020. The Home Minister’s rally in Midnapore is likely to be at the same place where PM Modi held a farmers’ welfare rally in 2018. Shah’s visit to the state comes on the heels of the party’s high-octane campaign ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
With the protesters planning to intensify their protests against the farm bills, Shah’s outreach to farmers in Bengal is seen as a significant event from where the Modi government could dispel the doubts and apprehensions tormenting the farmers and assure them that the Bills would not have any adverse impact as alleged by the demonstrators.
Shah’s visit to West Bengal expected to turn up political heat following an attack on JP Nadda’s convoy
Shah is expected to be in Bengal for two days—December 19 and 20. During his visit to the poll-bound state, the Union Home Minister would address rallies in at least three districts, including East Midnapore. His visit to the state is expected to raise the political heat, especially after the attack against BJP President JP Nadda’s convoy by TMC goons when it was on its way to Diamond Harbour. The attack had resulted in injuries to 8 BJP leaders, including the state’s top leaders like Dilip Ghosh, Mukul Roy, and Kailash Vijayvargiya.
Significantly, it is also being speculated that TMC heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari is likely to join the saffron fold during Shah’s visit to the state. Adhikari’s resignation from the TMC had sparked tremors in the Bengal’s political landscape. It came after senior TMC leader and Coochbehar Dakshin MLA Mihir Goswami quit the party and joined the BJP last month.
The Home Minister would aim to capitalise on making inroads in the politically polarised states after decades of limited presence. Following BJP’s impressive victory on 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 General elections, the party emerged as a credible alternative and a main rival to the ruling TMC. Shah would be hoping to build on the party’s outstanding performance at a much higher scale in the upcoming 2021 state elections.
Home Minister expected to raise the issue of political killings in West Bengal
In addition to this, Shah is also expected to turn the heat on the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government over the political killings of BJP workers in the state. Recently, a BJP worker in Bengal’s Cooch Behar was beaten to death in a clash between members of two community clubs over continuing Kali Puja celebration. The deceased, Kalachand Karmokar, was a polling booth level secretary of the BJP. The party has alleged that Karmokar was killed by goons shielded by the ruling dispensation Trinamool Congress.
In another grim incident, Swapan Das, a BJP booth committee member of Tufanganj assembly, was found hanging from the ceiling last week inside a school building in West Bengal’s Coochbehar district. This happened days after senior BJP worker Ulen Roy was killed in a clash between BJP workers and West Bengal Police.
Just three days ago, a BJP booth president named Saikat Bhawal was bludgeoned to death, allegedly by Trinamool (TMC) goons on Saturday evening. The incident took place during a public outreach programme of the BJP in Halishahar in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
