BJP to hold rally on TMC’s south Kolkata turf today – Times of India

Kolkata: Bengal BJP leaders, led by Dilip Ghosh and Suvendu Adhikari, will lead a rally on Trinamool Congress’ turf in south Kolkata on Monday.
Former Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee, however, will not be part of this rally that will start from Tollygunge tram depot at 2.30pm and end at Rashbehari Avenue. The BJP will hold a public meeting there.
Sovan, BJP’s Kolkata zone observer, will be present at the Diamond Harbour rally on Monday. “The Diamond Harbour rally is pre-scheduled and there is no scope to read too much into his absence,” said a state BJP leader.
According to sources, Sovan, who had been quite active in Diamond Harbour when Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee won from that parliamentary constituency in 2014, has been tasked with reclaiming the seat from Trinamool. “He was the man behind Abhishek’s victory then. He will lead the siege now. (BJP president J P) Nadda ji was attacked there and we will stage a protest at the same spot,” said Baisakhi Banerjee, BJP co-convenor of Kolkata zone.
Trinamool leader Saugata Roy felt Sovan should concentrate more on his Behala turf. “People have chosen Abhishek and voted for him. Sovan should start by winning an assembly segment first,” Roy said.
On Sunday, BJP held an organizational meeting to chalk out a strategy for the five ‘yatras’ it is planning from February. “We are planning Parivartan rallies in the state as part of our mass contact programme. The state government did not allow us to hold rallies before Lok Sabha polls,” Ghosh said.
While Ghosh did not comment on the schedule, state BJP leaders indicated the first rally would be held some time in February. During a meeting in Delhi, Union home minister Amit Shah had asked the zones to prepare routes for rallies. Once rallies are finalized, leaders from the Centre would be asked to join in for a week.
The BJP is also restricting the flow of inductions from other parties after recent developments. “Any member inducted in BJP will have to go through stricter scrutiny now. We will induct some more leaders and workers but it will not be the same any more,” a Bengal unit leader said.
At the meeting, BJP’s Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya asked Bishnupur MP Saumitra Khan to restrain his comments. While top BJP leaders such as Shah had said the party would not project a chief ministerial candidate, Khan had a few days back said Ghosh would be made CM if BJP was voted to office.