Kailash Vijayvargiya, the BJP general secretary in charge of West Bengal, announced on Friday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah would release the party's manifesto for the state polls in Kolkata on Sunday.
It is a surprise that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will release the BJP Manifesto for Bengal Assembly elections. It will send the wrong signal and hurt BJP's electoral prospects. The manifesto should released by Bengal BJP President.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) March 19, 2021
The BJP has launched an intensive campaign in West Bengal to wrest power from the Trinamool Congress, which has ruled the state for the past decade. Times Now reported the BJP manifesto for West Bengal could promise 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs as well as sops for disadvantaged communities, such as schools in every block.
Shah has focussed extensively on building up the BJP’s presence in West Bengal, especially after the party made shocking gains in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
However, the BJP move to have Shah release the manifesto has been criticised by a senior leader: Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy. Swamy tweeted on Friday the manifesto should be released by BJP's West Bengal unit chief, Dilip Ghosh. Swamy warned Shah releasing the manifesto "would send the wrong signal and hurt BJP's electoral prospects".
Swamy tweeted, "It is a surprise that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will release the BJP Manifesto for Bengal Assembly elections. It will send the wrong signal and hurt BJP's electoral prospects. The manifesto should released by Bengal BJP President."
Interestingly, Swamy also retweeted a tweet by Riju Dutta, a spokesperson for the TMC. Dutta claimed the manifesto release by Amit Shah was a "blatant disrespect to Bengal & Bengali where 87% of the population speaks Bengali”. Dutta had tweeted, “The BJP candidate list for #BengalElection2021 was also only in Hindi & English and Bengali was disregarded… now the Manifesto launch by @AmitShah... this blatant disrespect to Bengal & Bengali where 87% of the population speaks Bengali.. will have dire political consequences!
On Thursday, Ghosh had announced he would not be contesting the Assembly polls, but would instead be focussed on overseeing the poll campaign. There had been speculation Ghosh, a Lok Sabha MP, would be among frontrunners for the post of chief minister if the BJP won the election.
The BJP's campaign in West Bengal has faced setbacks given protests by local BJP activists against alleged preference for defectors from the Trinamool Congress in allocation of tickets.
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Protests have been held in multiple constituencies. The TMC has mocked the situation of the saffron party. "Every time BJP announce a list of candidates for #BengalElections2021 you can make an omelette. So much egg on their face," senior TMC leader Derek O'Brien tweeted.
