Amit Shah to embark on three-day visit to West Bengal

According to the schedule, Shah would land in the city airport in the evening of May 4 and move to Hingalganj in the North 24 Parganas district to attend a Border Security Force (BSF) function on the following day.

From there, Shah will fly to Bagdogra in North Bengal's Darjeeling district and address a rally at the Railway Institute Ground in Siliguri town.

Then he may meet the representatives of different political and non-political organisations in Darjeeling on May 5.

On the following day Shah will go to Cooch Behar and attend a government programme at Tin Bigha.

He will return to Kolkata on May 6 afternoon and is expected to hold meetings with top BJP leaders of the state before returning to Delhi.

This is Shah's first visit to Bengal after the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election where the BJP was decimated by Mamata Banerjee's TMC.

Sources said the Union Home Minister's visit is aimed at strengthening the party organisation in the state.

The visit is seen as important as several leaders left BJP since the assembly polls and the party, which had won 18 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, seeks to get the momentum back.

Meanwhile, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) said Shah's visit will have no impact on Bengal politics.

Party state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, “The BJP is struggling to maintain a balance between the party old-timers and newcomers. Shah is aware of his party's internal fighting and its defeat in Asansol by a margin of over 3 lakh votes.

"In Ballygunge, their candidate lost her deposit. Now, there is a competition among the state BJP leaders over who will meet him. Therefore, his visit will have no impact.”