Kolkata, Jan 27 (PTI): BJP national president Nitin Nabin will make his first visit to West Bengal on Tuesday after taking charge, with a two-day tour of the industrial belt covering Durgapur and Asansol, ahead of the assembly elections. Nabin is scheduled to arrive at Andal airport Tuesday evening and will remain in the West Burdwan district through Wednesday.
The visit is centred on organisational meetings and cadre mobilisation, reflecting the party’s renewed push to strengthen grassroots machinery before the polls. Notably, Kolkata is excluded from his maiden Bengal tour, with party sources calling the focus on Durgapur-Asansol a strategic choice, highlighting the political importance of the ‘Rarh Banga’ region.
“This region remains central to our revival plans. If the party has to improve its tally in the assembly, ‘Rarh Banga’ is unavoidable,” a senior BJP leader said. The belt, which includes East and West Burdwan, Bankura, Purulia, and Birbhum, was once a stronghold for the BJP, delivering its best-ever Lok Sabha performance in 2019 with five of eight seats, but has since seen declining fortunes in the 2021 assembly and 2024 parliamentary polls.
Durgapur and Asansol are considered key due to their significant non-Bengali voter base, which the BJP sees as receptive but insufficiently consolidated in recent elections. “Nitin Nabin’s visit is about consolidating existing support rather than firefighting,” a BJP functionary said, stressing the aim to rebuild confidence among workers after electoral setbacks.
According to the itinerary, Nabin will attend the Kamal Mela at Chitralaya Mela Ground in Durgapur Tuesday evening, followed by a closed-door organisational meeting at a city hotel. On Wednesday, he will offer prayers at Biringi Kali Temple, chair an organisational meeting at Chitralaya grounds, and travel to Raniganj in Asansol for another meeting before returning to Andal.
Party leaders said the discussions will focus on poll preparedness, booth-level strengthening, and coordination among district units, with emphasis on regions where the BJP retains voter support despite recent losses. Observers see Nabin’s visit as a region-specific strategy to reclaim lost ground and reinvigorate the party’s presence in West Bengal.
Category: Breaking News
SEO Tags: #swadesi, #News, BJP chief Nitin Nabin set to tour Durgapur, Asansol on first Bengal visit