The BJP on Friday held a high-level meeting led by its newly appointed election in-charge and Union minister Bhupender Yadav to prepare a roadmap for the forthcoming Assembly polls and strategies to counter the Trinamool Congress.

Yadav, a first-line poll strategist for the BJP, along with his deputy Biplab Deb, former Tripura chief minister, held their first meeting since they were appointed by the national leadership on September 25.

“Since Bhupender Yadav ji was made the in-charge for the Bengal Assembly polls, the central leadership had been planning to hold a meeting. We could not arrange it earlier because of Durga Puja. So, as soon as the festival was over, all senior leaders headed by the central leadership sat together today,” said Sukanta Majumdar, former Bengal BJP chief and Union minister of state.

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, the leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, and several top national leaders, including Bengal minders Sunil Bansal, Satish Dhand and Amit Malviya, were present in the meeting.

“We have decided to work together to oust Mamata Banerjee from power in 2026,” Majumdar added, while mentioning that he could not disclose the details of the discussion as it was organisational and highly confidential.

However, BJP sources said that the new election in-charge and senior leaders had discussed multiple issues related to the Assembly elections.

“This election is a ‘perform or perish’ moment for the party. That is why the senior leaders did not want to waste any time,” said a source.

The discussions primarily focused on strengthening the organisation and framing issues against Mamata Banerjee’s party for the elections, with calculations of seats where the BJP can easily win with minimum additional efforts.

On the organisational front, the BJP wants to form a new state committee first. Then, the leadership would review the performance of district units. At least three state general secretaries are likely to be replaced soon.

Secondly, the BJP leadership believes that internal rifts were key reasons behind the BJP’s failure in 2021, despite strong prospects of victory.

“If you see, all important leaders of the state were active during the election. The party now wants cumulative efforts, with credit going to everyone. So, it is important for the BJP to maintain strong collaboration among leaders and ensure joint efforts,” said a senior BJP leader.

Yadav is credited with handling the poll machinery for the BJP and securing an unlikely win in Maharashtra last year. In that case, he had rented accommodation in Mumbai and stayed for six months to look into every weak point of the party.

In this first meeting on Friday, Yadav took stock of the BJP’s performance and failures in the 2024 elections. He made it clear that every step would be taken very seriously and that the mistakes made in 2021 must not be repeated.

“We don’t know whether he will stay continuously in Bengal till the election. But there is a possibility that he may do so, like in Maharashtra, once Diwali is over,” said a BJP source.

Known as a maestro of social engineering, Yadav tailors strategies to state-specific caste, linguistic, or ethno-cultural dynamics while remaining aligned with the larger Hindutva project.

According to sources, the BJP will target Matua, Rajbanshi, tribal, and Kurmi communities in Bengal.

Trinamool meetings

On the same day that the BJP firmed up its strategy for next year’s crucial Assembly elections, Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee announced a list of 50 senior party leaders, including ministers, MLAs, and MPs, who would visit different districts to conduct Bijoya Sammilanis from October 5.