The BJP has announced an aggressive statewide mobilisation programme from March 1 to take its campaign for regime change to every corner of Bengal.
As part of the 10-day “Parivartan Yatra” that will traverse more than 5,000km, the BJP will hold 64 major public meetings and over 300 smaller rallies, culminating in a high-voltage show of strength at the Brigade Parade Ground, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a mega meeting in mid-March.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya described the yatra as a decisive call for a change of guard in Bengal, aimed squarely at unseating the Trinamool Congress government led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
“Trinamool almost lost power, and there is no power in the state which can help the Trinamool government come back. To make this transition of power in the state smoother, the BJP has planned to organise nine rallies in the state,” Bhattacharya said.
The yatra will be flagged off simultaneously from nine locations on March 1 and 2. On March 1, major rallies will begin from Cooch Behar Dakshin, Krishnanagar, Kulti, Garbeta and Raidighi. On March 2, yatras will start from Islampur, Sandeshkhali and two other locations. Nine top leaders, including Union ministers Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, and Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP president Nitin Naveen and former Union minister Smriti Irani, are expected to participate in the inaugural events at nine different locations to flag off the yatras on these two days.
The BJP has kept March 3 and 4 free to allow workers and supporters to celebrate Holi before resuming the campaign. The BJP has drawn up a constituency-focused blueprint. After the yatra passes through an Assembly segment, a major meeting will be held the following day to consolidate the campaign in the region.
More than 300 rallies are planned across Bengal by March 10, with the stated objective of ensuring the BJP’s footprint in every Assembly constituency.
Framing the campaign as a historical correction, Bhattacharya said: “There was a call for change in 2011. Then there was only one issue — to restore democracy in the state. People wanted to raise their voice against the ‘cadre raj’ in the state. The change was also called for social and economic development and people in the state expressed their faith in the Trinamool Congress. Now, for the last 15 years, there is no need to explain what the people of West Bengal have got from this Trinamool government. The entire constitutional system in the state has broken down and the democratic rights and the fundamental rights of the people in the state have also been curbed. Corruption and Trinamool Congress have become synonymous words. So the rule of Trinamool Congress is now a foregone conclusion.”
Even as the BJP exudes confidence, internal messaging suggests a push from the central leadership to sharpen the narrative.
At a strategy meeting in Salt Lake City office of the BJP on Tuesday, office bearers from across the state — including organisational district presidents and key yatra coordinators — were summoned to fine-tune the “Parivartan” pitch.
Apart from Bhattacharya, all-India general secretary and Bengal organisational in-charge Sunil Bansal, and Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav addressed the gathering, underlining the need to transform the promise of change from an “illusory” slogan into a credible political proposition backed by confidence and narrative discipline.
BJP insiders, however, admit that while the central leaders had articulated an assertive line, that confidence was yet to percolate fully to the grassroots. The Bidhannagar meeting, they said, was as much about logistics as it was about morale — an attempt to synchronise messaging, energise district units and prepare the cadre for what the BJP hopes will be a decisive, statewide show of strength.