Amplify public outreach, PM tells Bengal BJP MPs

PRime government minister Narendra Modi held a get together with BJP MPs from westward Bengal on midweek and directed the lawmakers to redouble their public outreach forward of the upcoming assembly polls in the state and focus on special intensive revision (SIR ) as a mechanism to ensure the sanctity of the electoral rolls, people aware of the details said.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have locked horns over the ongoing SIR being conducted by the election commission ahead of the state polls, scheduled next year. While the TMC has dubbed the SIR as an exclusionary exercise to push Bengalis out, the BJP has accused the party of trying to add illegal immigrants as voters in the state.According to a person privy to the meeting, the PM told the lawmakers that instead of letting the opposition politicise the exercise, the BJP leaders should engage with the voters and explain the rationale behind the SIR.“The PM said we should be able to convey to the people the need to review the electoral list. It is a process that allows eligible people who are not enrolled to include their names in the list and also remove those who are not bonafide citizens,” said the person cited above.The PM also reviewed the election preparations of the party that has set its sights on winning the election with a “decisive victory.”“He took stock of the situation on the ground, and spoke about the political violence in the state against the BJP cadre. A mention was made of the attack on our MP, Khagen Murmu…and the PM said there is need to have a sharp and focussed election narrative in the state to highlight the failures of the state government,” the person quoted above added.Raju Bista, the MP from Darjeeling who was part of the delegation of 14 lawmakers said among the issues discussed were the “rapidly deteriorating law and order situation under the TMC government”.“We also discussed the recent landslides and floods in our Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region and the WB Government’s refusal to officially notify it as a ‘disaster’, and non-allocation of SDRF funds towards disaster rehabilitation. Further, we discussed the severe challenges faced by the tea garden and cinchona garden workers, and possible ways to address them,” he said in a post on social media.Bista said the PM praised the dedication and tireless efforts of the BJP workers in West Bengal, and encouraged them to continue the positive work with renewed vigour and to take further steps towards reaching out to every individual across the state.The BJP, which won 77 of the 294 seats in the 2021 assembly election is pulling out all the stops to oust the Mamata Banerjee led TMC government from the state. The party’s election narrative has been mounted on the issues of “corruption, crime and ghuspaythias (illegal settlers)”.In his public address shortly after the Bihar assembly victory last month, the PM set the tone for the party cadre and said, “The Ganga flows from Bihar to West Bengal. And the river has already paved the way for BJP’s victory in Bengal. I assure the people in Bengal that BJP will now work with you to end the Jungleraj in Bengal.”The delegation included state president Shamik Bhattacharya and union ministers Shantanu Thakur and Sukanta Majumdar.