Kolkata, 18 February (H.S.) : Ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced that it will launch a statewide ‘Parivartan Yatra’ covering all 294 Assembly constituencies. The party plans to culminate the campaign with a massive public rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground, aiming to formally kick off its election push.
According to party sources, the ‘Parivartan Yatra’ will begin in the first week of March. Senior leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President Nitin Naveen, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Devendra Fadnavis, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nitin Gadkari and Smriti Irani, are expected to visit the state to inaugurate different legs of the yatra.
The BJP will organise nine separate yatras to cover all 294 Assembly segments. Five yatras will be flagged off on March 1 from Cooch Behar Dakshin, Krishnanagar Dakshin, Kulti, Garbeta and Raidighi. Four more will begin on March 2 from Islampur, Sandeshkhali, Hasan and Amta. The programme will remain suspended on March 3 and 4 due to Holi, after which the yatras will resume on March 5 and continue until March 10. The campaign will conclude with the Prime Minister’s rally at Brigade, the date of which will be announced later.
State BJP President Shamik Bhattacharya said the party plans to cover nearly 5000 kilometres through the yatras. Each leg is expected to host around 64 major public meetings and more than 300 smaller gatherings. The objective, he said, is to intensify mass outreach across the state just ahead of the anticipated announcement of the election schedule.
BJP leaders have asserted that there is a strong demand for political change in the state and that the yatra seeks to consolidate that sentiment. Bhattacharya targeted the ruling Trinamool Congress, claiming that public confidence in the current government has eroded and that change is inevitable.
Responding to the announcement, State Industry Minister Shashi Panja accused the Centre of withholding Rs 2 lakh crore in dues to West Bengal. She alleged that promises such as providing 2 crore jobs annually and depositing Rs 15 lakh in citizens’ bank accounts have not been fulfilled. According to her, the BJP is attempting to create an electoral wave through money and muscle power, but the people of the state continue to repose faith in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The Left Front also criticised the BJP’s programme. CPI(M) Central Committee member Sujan Chakraborty alleged that the party’s yatras revolve around communal issues and fail to address the livelihood concerns of common people.
Political observers believe the extensive campaign is part of the BJP’s broader strategy to mount a direct challenge to the ruling Trinamool Congress in the run-up to the Assembly polls. The effectiveness of the ‘Parivartan Yatra’ and the proposed Brigade rally in shaping the electoral narrative will become clear in the coming weeks.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
