JP Nadda launches BJP’s door-to-door campaign in Kolkata under public outreach programme ‘Aar Noi Annay’ – Times Now

Kolkata: Amid an ongoing war-of-words between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda arrived in Kolkata for a two-day visit to West Bengal starting Wednesday. Nadda inaugurated the BJP’s West Bengal State Election Office at Hastings in Kolkata in the presence of BJP’s West Bengal in-charge Kailash Vijayvargiya. “We will keep West Bengal’s culture alive. BJP shares a special relation with state,” he said.

Attacking Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while in Kolkata, Nadda argued that Bengal has the highest numbers for female domestic crime, human trafficking and incidents of rape. “Mamata di stopped reporting numbers to Crime Bureau; even refusing to give Covid-19 numbers. Her government is only for political gains, has kept people from joining mainstream affairs.”

“Mamata Banerjee is the byword for intolerance,” he said, adding “the BJP runs party through its offices, other parties run from homes. For us party is family, for some like TMC family is party.”

Later, Nadda offered prayers at Kalighat temple in Kolkata.

He launched the party’s door-to-door campaign in Kolkata as part of its public outreach programme ‘Aar Noi Annay’ (No More Injustice) in West Bengal.

The BJP president is also slated to participate in a number of programmes aimed at strengthening his party’s organisation in the western state ahead of the Assembly polls next year. He will hold a meeting with representatives from slum community, in West Bengal today. He will also inaugurate party offices in nine other districts in the state.

Nadda is on a 120-day tour of the country to strengthen the party across various states. The tour began from Uttarakhand on December 4. 

Later in the afternoon, he will take part in BJP’s ‘Griha Sampark Abhiyan’ (Door-to-door campaign) in Bhawanipore and Harish Mukherjee Road areas — considered as the backyard of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“He will offer puja at Kalighat temple in the evening,” a party leader was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

On Thursday, Nadda will be visiting another TMC bastion- Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency. “At Diamond Harbour, he is scheduled to hold meetings with the fishermen community of the state. He will also meet the district leadership and is likely to address a press conference,” the source was cited as saying in the agency report. 

Nadda will also participate in a number of outreach programmes such as ‘Aar Noi Anyay’ (no more injustice), which is aimed at countering the alleged ‘gunda raj‘ of the TMC in West Bengal. He will also be interacting with slum communities in a bid to understand their concerns ahead of the polls.

West Bengal goes to poll in April-May 2021. The BJP has emerged as the main rival to the ruling TMC in the state, especially during the 2019 general elections, in which it won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies. Home Minister Amit Shah and Nadda have been visiting the state over the past few months as the state unit of the BJP is determined to put an end to Banerjee’s 10-year rule.