KOLKATA: BJP national president J P Nadda, on a two-day tour of West Bengal, is likely to address the state executive of the Bengal unit, which is still facing internal bickering and exodus. He will also address an interaction with city intellectuals as part of his outreach programme.
Scheduled to reach the city on Tuesday night, Nadda will start his tour by paying homage to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. On Wednesday morning, the BJP chief is scheduled to visit Vande Mataram Bhavan in Chinsurah, the house where Bankim composed ‘Vande Mataram’ in the 1870s. In 1882, the song was included in his novel ‘Anandamath’. Nadda will also visit the Rash Behari Bose Research Institute in Chandannagar.
In the afternoon, the BJP leader will address the state executive, followed by meetings with top party functionaries. “A separate interaction with MPs and MLAs of the party has been scheduled the next day. He will also attend ‘karyakarta sammelan’ of district, mandal and morchas at the Science City auditorium on Thursday,” a party leader said.
Nadda’s visit comes amid desertions by leaders such as Arjun Singh and Babul Supriyo, who switched sides. “There had been some untoward incidents that should not have happened. But the party has come out of that situation now. We have support of 38% of the state’s population,” Bengal BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.
On Thursday, Nadda will visit Belur Math in the morning. That evening, he has a scheduled interaction with intellectuals at Kala Mandir. “There is no specific issue for the interaction, but he may invite questions and suggestions from people in the city,” said the party leader.
Meanwhile, state BJP leaders have upped the ante against Trinamool Congress after it took to the streets demanding immediate disbursal of 100 days’ work wages under MGNREGA. BJP sources said issues such as allegations of malpractice in the rural job scheme and irregularities in SSC recruitment are likely to find mention during Nadda’s discussions with the state executive.
On Monday, Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar took out a rally in Hooghly, where Nadda will attend programmes on Wednesday. “The cut-money culture continues in TMC. The state is unable to provide tap water to households under Jal Jeevan Mission,” he said. The state unit leaders also trained guns on TMC for “ignoring federal structure”.
