BJP launches general election campaign in Bengal with Amit Shah rally

Beginning on November 29, the BJP will launch its general election campaign in Bengal. At the rally, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is anticipated to speak to a minimum of one lakh attendees.

Alleged corruption and suspected irregularities under the Trinamul rule in Bengal are expected to be the rally's main themes in an effort to refute Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claim that the BJP-led Centre is denying Bengal's impoverished masses by withholding funds owed to the state.

"On November 29, if nothing changes at the last minute, Amit Shahji will be in Calcutta. Since this gathering is the first in a series of campaign rallies by our national leaders in the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year, we want to make it a big showdown against Trinamul. According to a top BJP leader in Calcutta, "that is why the party wants to bring a large number of people from all over the state."

He claims that the BJP will host 42 "semi-mega" rallies in each of the state's 12 Lok Sabha constituencies in addition to a dozen "mega" rallies. Shah, J.P. Nadda, the head of the BJP, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will all speak at four of the twelve "mega" rallies.

The state government stood in the way of hosting the rally in front of Victoria House in the Esplanade area, despite the BJP leadership's plans to make the November 29 event a grand spectacle in the city. The BJP has chosen to stage its Shah-led "mega" rally on July 21 near the location of Mamata's annual celebration. The BJP filed a petition with the Calcutta High Court on Monday, allegedly requesting permission from the police to stage the protest on November 29.

On Monday, the administration informed the court that, subject to certain requirements, the BJP might stage Shah's rally at the Victoria House-Esplanade crossing on November 29.

In order to enable the event, the Calcutta police lawyer asserted that certain arrangements would need to be made at the demonstration site. The police were given till Wednesday to list the rules by the high court, at the lawyer's request. On Monday, the matter was scheduled for hearing before Justice Rajasekhar Mantha.

Judge Mantha made the following observation during the hearing: "I want to know exactly why the police harass different parties whenever they ask for permission to hold demonstrations. The freedom to organize rallies anywhere should be granted to everyone."

Nevertheless, during the day, the court did not issue any written orders. On Wednesday, a formal order will be passed.

Prior to their November 30, 2014, rally at the same location, which was also headed by Shah, the BJP encountered the same issue. The top court gave the go-ahead to hold the rally there.

The BJP first used the phrase "Bhaag Mamata, Bhaag (Run Mamata, Run)" at that point.

"This time, we'll definitely go to court as well. We would benefit politically from the Mamata Banerjee government's refusal of permission and our prior experience. A BJP leader declared, "We will not postpone moving the Calcutta High Court."

Bengali politics have changed as a result of the BJP's November 29 rally, as the Trinamul government's pre-Puja attempts to use the narrative of deprivation to attack Modi and his administration were somewhat successful.

During her meeting with the party's grassroots on Thursday at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Mamata is expected to provide guidance on how to better carry out her plans for advancing the movement, which was spearheaded by her nephew and Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alone in September and October. The movement is centered around Delhi's alleged stepmotherly treatment of Bengal in the campaign against the BJP.

According to a BJP senior in Calcutta, district leaders were given specific goals to gather on November 29 persons from among those who had lost out on benefits or income under government programs like the MGNREGS and the Awas Yojana, with the intention of emphasizing that this lack is a result of "Trinamul's corruption."

Our goal is to bring five or more people from each of the roughly 70,000 exhibitors. It equates to almost 3.5 lakh persons. We are aware that we won't be able to carry it through. However, we anticipate at least one lakh attendees," the leader stated.