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Amit Shah Meets BJP Representatives in Kolkata, Reaches Out to ‘Backbencher’ Dilip Ghosh
Union Home Minister Amit Shah meets BJP public representatives in Kolkata ahead of West Bengal Assembly polls, invites former state president Dilip Ghosh for talks, signals key role in 2026 campaign.
Continuing his efforts to assess the Bharatiya Janata Party’s preparedness for the West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled early next year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday held a closed-door meeting with the party’s public representatives at a hotel in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
The meeting was attended by BJP MPs, MLAs, civic body councillors, former legislators and organisational office-bearers. Notably, former state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who has remained largely out of the political spotlight in recent months, was also invited to the interaction.
The party’s current state president Samik Bhattacharya and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari were among the senior leaders present.
While details of the discussions were not officially disclosed, a senior BJP leader said the meeting included leaders who are likely to be party candidates in the upcoming elections. Shah, regarded as the BJP’s chief election strategist, reportedly sought inputs on the campaign roadmap and shared his strategic vision with the leaders.
On Dilip Ghosh’s inclusion, the leader said the perceived “cooling-off” period for the veteran politician appeared to be over. Ghosh had been seen as sidelined after visuals of him meeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple complex in Digha earlier this year sparked political chatter.
“The party feels Ghosh will play an important role in the months ahead,” the leader said, adding that his firebrand image and aggressive campaigning style could be leveraged during the election campaign.
Ghosh is widely regarded as the BJP’s most successful state president, under whose leadership the party expanded its Assembly strength from three seats to over 70 and won 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Suvendu Adhikari expressed confidence about the party’s prospects. “Everyone in the party is energised. We will win the 2026 Assembly elections and bring about real change in West Bengal,” he said.
On Tuesday, Shah had already set the tone for the high-stakes polls, launching a sharp attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led government, accusing it of “dangerously altering” the state’s demography by facilitating infiltration from Bangladesh for electoral gains and indulging in widespread corruption.
Signalling the BJP’s core campaign narrative for 2026, Shah asserted that the issue of infiltration would be placed at the centre of the party’s election campaign.
After the meeting with party representatives, Shah is scheduled to address a BJP workers’ conference at a city auditorium and offer prayers at the Thantania Kali Temple in central Kolkata before returning to Delhi.
