Union home minister Amit Shah will be in Bengal on a two-day tour on December 19 and 20, the party announced a day after its national president J.P. Nadda’s convoy had allegedly been attacked on its way to Diamond Harbour on Thursday.

Multiple BJP leaders said Shah would up the ante against the Trinamul Congress on the alleged attack and lay stress on the “breakdown” of law and order in the state, which would be a major plank of the campaign for the party in the 2021 Assembly polls.

“Amit ji will be in Bengal on a two-day tour... He will visit North 24-Parganas and Birbhum,” said BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu.

Several leaders of Bengal BJP said Shah’s visit must be seen in the context of Thursday’s incident. “The home minister was supposed to tour Bengal in December. However, after the attack on Naddaji, it is natural that Amitji will politically counter the incident during his tour,” a source in the party said.

In spite of condemning the incident publicly, a section of BJP office-bearers said they were happy with the political mileage the attack had given to the party.

“We’ve been speaking to people since the incident happened. Even the ones who oppose us ideologically condemned the attack,” a source said while adding that Shah’s presence, after the incident, would help the party.

According to the leader, the incident has managed to establish the narrative about worsening law and order in Bengal.

Shah may also attend a programme organised by the Viswa-Bharati University in Santiniketan.

Shah spoke to BJP’s national vice-president Mukul Roy over phone.

“I received a call from Amit Shahji. He asked me about yesterday’s incident,” Roy said. “He has asked me to send a detailed report on how the Trinamul people attacked us unprovoked on Thursday,” he added.