Kolkata: Union home minister Amit Shah will be present during the filing of nominations of two candidates in south Kolkata — Suvendu Adhikari (Bhowanipore) and Swapan Dasgupta (Rashbehari) — on Thursday. Shah, likely to reach Kolkata on Wednesday night, will also lead a roadshow from Hazra Park to Survey Building — a move seen as a challenge to Trinamool in its traditional stronghold.The focus on Bhowanipore, BJP netas said, is a direct challenge to CM Mamata Banerjee, who is contesting from there. This is not, however, Shah’s first visit to the constituency. Before the 2021 assembly polls, Shah was present at a door-to-door campaign in the constituency.“By camping in the CM’s own backyard, the party aims to project that no Trinamool seat is invincible,” said a Bengal BJP neta. “Moreover, it will also counter the ‘Bengal’s daughter’ narrative spun by TMC in the area,” he added.Ahead of the Shah visit, Adhikari did a door-to-door campaign in Bhowanipore on Wednesday. Expressing confidence in his win, Adhikari took on the Trinamool-led state govt for its alleged corruption. He also referred to a Kolkata Police DCP and said he would be arrested soon. While campaigning, the LoP in state assembly ran into “Joy Bangla” slogans.Bhowanipore, where around 34% of the population have their roots in Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan, Shah’s presence might shore up the traditional BJP base. BJP has already been working towards engaging the Sikh community in Bhowanipore. Similarly, in Rashbehari, BJP is targeting the middle-class “Bhadralok” vote, focusing on issues of industrial stagnation and decadence of civic infrastructure. “Trinamool has come out with posters written in Gujarati. People don’t trust such ploys anymore,” state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said.While Trinamool has dismissed Shah’s visits as “political tourism” and has tried to tag him an “outsider”, state BJP netas said that Shah’s decision to remain present in these specific areas in south Kolkata indicates that the party is not merely looking for a high seat count, but a shift in political landscape.BJP, meanwhile, on Wednesday released five “guarantees” for the state, promising better civic amenities and infrastructure, improved law and order, restoration of cultural heritage and ensuring social justice.Bhattacharya alleged that names of “Hindu voters had been deleted selectively in Kolkata”. “If such things continue, we won’t be in favour of going to polls. We will take it to the streets then,” he said.
