BJP gives 'finishing touches' to its Bengal assembly election strategy

With lessons from Bihar, BJP is giving "finishing touches" to its strategy for West Bengal assembly elections due in April-May next year, party sources said on Wednesday.

NDA has won 125 seats in 243-member Bihar assembly, results of which were declared on Tuesday. BJP, after bagging 74 seats, has emerged as second-largest party in state, with a tally much higher than its ally JD (U)'s 43.

saffron party has set a target of winning more than 200 seats in 294-strong Bengal assembly.

With Bihar done and dusted, BJP will w shift its focus to politically crucial West Bengal, which sends 42 MPs to Lok Sabha, two more than Bihar, y said.

BJP, which has me deep inros in West Bengal by winning 18 of 42 Lok Sabha seats in state in last year's elections, four less than ruling TMC, was waiting for Bihar election results before beginning its "final assault" on Mamata Banerjee government, party sources said.

BJP national general secretary and party's West Bengal minder, Kailash Vijayvargiya, h on Tuesday asserted victory in state will be "much bigger" as "party will storm to power with a two-thirds majority".

" people of West Bengal are fed up with misrule of TMC and y want a change," he said.

BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh echoed him, saying, "After Bihar, it will be West Bengal for BJP." " saffron wave witnessed in neighbouring Bihar will sweep away TMC in West Bengal too. difference between elections in two states, however, is that we were in power in Bihar for nearly 15 years but in West Bengal, we are a challenger," Ghosh said.

A section of state BJP leers, however, underlined that Bihar election results will have little impact on polls in West Bengal, or than seats along border, but it will act as a "morale booster" for party workers in state.

Several state BJP leers said party, taking a cue from Bihar poll results, will "re-strategise" its campaign issues for West Bengal elections.

To corner TMC, BJP h been so far stressing upon alleged misrule, law and order issues, violence, corruption and state ministration's handling of COVID-19 situation.

" Bihar election results have shown that issues like unemployment and migrant labour crisis are also important in several seats. So, we need to stress upon se problems as well.

"As Bihar was first state to go to assembly elections after COVID-19 outbreak, re are a few things all of us need to learn from polls," a senior West Bengal BJP leer said.

Although BJP has vant of being an "untested challenger", party is well aware that it will be up against mighty Mamata Banerjee, who has a reputation of being a street-fighter politician, party sources said.

"If RJD leer Tejashwi Yav can put up such a fight, it is for anyone's guess kind of contest we will face in West Bengal," ar state BJP leer said.

As per parliamentary poll results, saffron camp h bagged 40.5 per cent votes and was ahe in more than 125 assembly seats in state.

central BJP leership has asked state leers to fan out to districts and organise agitations and mass mobilisations on issues people are concerned about, before Congress and Left Front capitalises on those problems, BJP sources said.

"People will see several agitations in different assembly segments over local issues from vember-December onwards," a BJP leer said, ding party is also working to plug gaps in its organisational strength in some districts.

ruling TMC, however, mocked saffron party's target of winning more than 200 seats in state.

"As far as coming to power in West Bengal is concerned, BJP is still living in fool's parise. party will lose deposits in most of seats," TMC MP and spokesperson Saugato Roy said.