JOIN USThe BJP, which changed its strategy for West Bengal after the drubbing in Bihar Assembly polls, has decided to scale it down further.
The party, which was to kick off its poll campaign in the state with a mega-rally at Kolkata end of November, will now be a more local affair without any national leaders, as was earlier planned.
The party had planned to hold its Utthan Divas rally on November 30 at the historic Shahid Minar grounds in Kolkata.
Under the changed circumstances, the rally could be held at a smaller venue. Party president Amit Shah and other prominent national faces are also no on the list of speakers, sources said.
The rally will now be addressed by Kailsah Vijayvargiya, the party’s observer for Bengal, and his predecessor in the job, Sidharth Nath Singh. Sources also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to address a dozen rallies since January, will now address only a handful of meetings. Most of these meetings will be addressed by Shah from late December.
Although BJP state president Rahul Sinha vehemently denied that the changed scenario came in the wake of Bihar results, sources admitted that the party’s national executive was keen on hitting poll mode only after sorting out “some organisational issues” within the state unit.
While Sinha admitted that plans have changed, he said that Shah will not be present in the November 30 rally as he has to take part in winter session of Parliament.