Amit Shah to hold five rallies in Bengal this month, Modi may arrive in February: State BJP Chief

BJP President Amit Shah will hold five public rallies in three days in West Bengal starting on January 20, a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's mega-opposition rally in Kolkata, party's state President Dilip Ghosh said here on Wednesday.

Ghosh said the party also has plans to organise a mega public rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kolkata, sometime in February.

"Party President Amit Shah will hold five rallies in Bengal this month. Shah's first public rally will be held in Malda district on January 20. He will hold two rallies in Jhargram and Birbhum district's Suri on January 21 and two more rallies in South 24 Pargana district's Jaynagar and Nadia district's Krishnanagar the next day," Ghosh told reporters at the state BJP headquarters here.

"We have plans to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kolkata in February to address a mega rally. We have submitted the suggestive dates for the rally in city's Brigade Parade Ground. The final date will be announced after it is confirmed by the PMO," he said.

Ghosh's announcement came a day after the Supreme Court barred the saffron outfit from holding its proposed Rath-Yatra in Bengal until it can fully address the state government's apprehensions on law and order during the event.

The BJP leader also revealed that Prime Minister Modi may hold a couple of rallies in the state prior to his proposed mega-rally in Kolkata if possible.

"There will be bike rallies by the party's Yuba Morcha (youth wing), door-to-door campaigns by the Mahila Morcha (women wing) and bicycle rallies by the SC, ST and OBC Morcha in all the districts to make people aware of these programmes," Ghosh said.

When asked about Trinamool Supremo Mamata Banerjee's rally on January 19, expected to bring a number of senior opposition leaders on one stage, Ghosh ridiculed the event stating many of the leaders who were previously expected to attend the event have already opted out.

"As far as I know, many people who were supposed to attend the meeting have waved goodbye (to Banerjee). We are not giving it much importance. It is possible that the aunt and nephew (Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee) would be left on the dais," he said.

--IANS

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