Amit Shah and J P Nadda offer puja at Kalighat temple

Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda on Tuesday offered puja at Kalighat temple in the city, during their whirlwind day-long visit to the state, to assess the party's preparedness for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Commencing their tour, they visited Gurudwara Bara Sikh Sangat in Central Kolkata and the Kalighat temple in South Kolkata, situated a short distance from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence.

A senior state BJP leader said, "Both offered puja at Gurudwara and at Kalighat temple. In the afternoon, they will be holding a series of organisational meetings before leaving for New Delhi in the evening. They will take stock of the organisational strength and our organisational preparedness".

Shah and Nadda's visit to the city is focused on evaluating the organizational landscape in West Bengal in anticipation of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls next year.

The leaders are scheduled to preside over a series of organisational meetings on Tuesday, with no plans to address public events or meetings.

Later in the evening, the leaders are expected to participate in a closed-door programme at the National Library before departing for New Delhi, according to state BJP leaders.

The ruling TMC downplayed the significance of the visit. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh stated, "The visit won't have any impact. They will come and go, but the people of Bengal will have faith in the people of the state".

Shah had previously set a target of winning more than 35 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured 18 out of the 42 parliamentary constituencies in the state.

The visit by these top leaders to West Bengal occurs at a crucial juncture as the party strives to strengthen its organisational machinery in preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Internal discord and defections have plagued the BJP following the announcement of the 2021 assembly election results, with former Union Minister Babul Supriyo, party MP Arjun Singh, and six legislators, including national vice president Mukul Roy, defecting to the TMC since the 2021 assembly polls.

In the 2021 elections, the TMC secured a resounding victory for the third consecutive term, winning 215 assembly seats, while the BJP secured 77 seats.