Amit Shah to address two rallies in West Bengal on weekend

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address two rallies in West Bengal on Saturday and Sunday and attend several programmes as the BJP steps up its campaign in the poll-bound state where Assembly elections are expected to be held in April-May.

BJP sources said Shah will arrive in Kolkata on Friday night and start his public programmes on Saturday with a visit to ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness) in Mayapur and later address a rally at Thakurnagar. He will also address his party's social media volunteers in Kolkata in the evening.

Shah is scheduled to address another rally at Dumurjala in Howrah on Sunday. He will also visit Aurobindo Bhawan and Belur Math on the day.

Party leaders said he is expected to have lunch at the house of a jute mill worker in Belur on Sunday.

The saffron party has emerged as the main challenger to the ruling Trinamool Congress, headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in the state.

The party is pulling out all stops to end her 10-year-old reign and has debuted a number of senior leaders, including Union ministers, to its state campaign.