Shah on ‘mission Bengal’, Dilip Ghosh not invited to party meet

 Just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in West Bengal, Union home minister Amit Shah is set to arrive in the state on Saturday night, raising political temperatures ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

SNS | June 1, 2025 | May 31, 2025 : Just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in West Bengal, Union home minister Amit Shah is set to arrive in the state on Saturday night, raising political temperatures ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

Modi, while addressing a rally in Alipurduar on 29 May, accused the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress government of corruption and listed what he termed as the “five crises” facing the state. In a swift and sharp response, chief minister Mamata Banerjee challenged the Prime Minister to a face-to-face debate on television. On Friday, she further took to social media to counter Modi’s claims, accusing him of “spreading falsehoods” for narrow political gains and highlighting development initiatives undertaken in Alipurduar. Amit Shah’s visit is therefore expected to add fuel to the ongoing political duel. According to sources, Shah will arrive in Kolkata airport around 9.30 p.m. on Saturday aboard a BSF aircraft. He could meet senior state functionaries at his hotel tonight.

On Sunday, he is scheduled to attend an official event in Rajarhat, followed by a key organisational meeting of the BJP at Netaji Indoor Stadium. Later in the afternoon, he will attend a religious event at Swami Vivekananda’s ancestral home, before flying back to Delhi in the evening.

With just a year left before the state heads to the polls, both Modi’s and Shah’s back-to-back visits are being seen as strategically significant. Political observers believe the BJP’s closed-door meeting in New Town may focus on finalising strategies for the 2026 Assembly election.

The BJP has recently announced new district presidents across most of its organisational zones in Bengal. However, the party is yet to name a state president. Whether Shah hints at retaining incumbent Sukanta Majumdar or signals a leadership change remains a point of interest.

Meanwhile, speculation is rife over the conspicuous absence of senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh from recent events. Ghosh, who was not invited to Modi’s Alipurduar rally, has reportedly been excluded from Shah’s Netaji Indoor Stadium meeting as well. Speaking to the media, Ghosh said all current office bearers had been invited to the event, and since he holds no official post, his exclusion might be procedural. “Maybe I won’t be called,” he remarked wryly. When asked about the omission, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar stated that the decision lies with the national leadership, and he would not comment further.

As Shah lands in Bengal, all eyes will be on his speech and interactions, which could further set the tone for the party’s electoral preparations in the politically volatile state.