Amit Shah arrives in Kolkata on 3-day visit to Bengal

    Kolkata, Dec 29 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived here on Monday evening on a three-day visit to West Bengal, where Assembly elections are due early next year.
    Shah's visit would, almost for its entire part, be focused on setting the BJP's tone and tenor for the upcoming elections with a tightly packed itinerary of party meetings, workers' outreach programmes and even a coordination rendezvous with RSS leaders of the state, beside a visit to a Kali temple in the city.
    The home minister arrived at Kolkata airport around 7:25 pm and was received by the top leaders of the BJP's Bengal unit, including state president Samik Bhattacharya, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar.
    Shah was seen walking up to the BJP supporters, who braved the evening winter chill to welcome the leader with drums and trumpets, and greeting them.
    Shah then headed straight to the BJP office in Sector V, Salt Lake, and reached his destination around 8.05 pm amid tight security cover and enthusiastic supporters, who gathered outside the venue chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Banchte Chai, BJP Tai' (Want to live, hence BJP), the party's central slogan for the upcoming state polls.
    They also showered rose petals on the leader's convoy.
    At the party office, Shah is scheduled to hold a meeting to take stock of the party's organisational preparedness for the upcoming assembly elections, a senior BJP leader said.
    The meeting would be attended by 26 top BJP leaders in the state and party-appointed observers, where the strategic blueprint for the state polls and measures to plug possible loopholes in them are likely to be discussed, he added.
    On Tuesday, Shah is expected to hold a press conference, followed by back-to-back closed-door meetings with BJP's public representatives from the state in Parliament, Assembly and civic bodies and also with the top brass of Bengal RSS.
    Shah may also chair several core committee meetings during his stay.
    On Wednesday, Shah is scheduled to visit the Thanthania Kali Bari Temple in central Kolkata. He is also scheduled to address a party workers' meeting at an auditorium in east Kolkata on that day.
    The home minister is likely to visit the house of a Bengali icon in the city or its nearby areas before leaving, the BJP leader said, adding that this programme has not yet been finalised.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)