On Jangipur high, BJP gears up for rural poll

Buoyed by its performance in the Jangipur Lok Sabha bypoll where it came third after the Congress and the CPM, the BJP has decided to go all in for the panchayat polls to be held in six months. In a bid to enhance its vote share by cashing in on the rift between the Congress and the ruling Trinamool Congress, it has decided to launch a major campaign drive.

On November 30, the party has convened a big rally in Kolkata to be addressed by senior leaders like Sushma Swaraj. Arun Jaitley will address another rally in Siliguri in January. In the run up to the polls, the BJP has also lined up the visit of senior leaders like L K Advani and Narendra Modi to the state.

The party has also deployed all its organisations like the RSS, Bajrang Dal and the VHP to garner support. The RSS will hold a major convention at Malda in January which will be addressed by Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat.

"At least 10,000 people below the age of 40 will be assigned different duties including that of a pracharak," a party spokesman said. "Our target is the three assembly bypolls and the panchayat election. We will fight it alone and will not support independent candidate in the panchayat election," said state BJP chief Rahul Sinha.

BJP is expecting garner a good number of Hindu votes as it believes that 'appeasement of minorities' will lead to a backlash among the majority communities. "Instead of creating a level playing field for all the communities, successive governments are creating a division by announcing sops for minorities,'' he said.

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