Union Home Minister Amit Shah has postponed his visit to West Bengal amid farmers’ protest at Delhi’s borders and also due to the IED blast that occurred in the capital on Friday.
Shah was set to arrive in Kolkata on Friday night on a two-day visit beginning on Saturday to take stock of the BJP’s preparedness ahead of the assembly elections in West Bengal.
He was also scheduled to address important rallies across the state, including the much-talked-about one at Matua bastion Thakurnagar about the implementation of CAA.
Meanwhile, the actual reason for the deferment of his trip was not known. But it comes as farmers have intensified their protests against three farm laws amid incidents of clashes with “locals” at some places and also after a low-scale blast happened neat tje Israeli embassy in New Delhi.
Shah’s tour was planned in the backdrop of growing rebellion in the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) with several ministers and MLAs openly speaking out against the party and the functioning of the state government.
Speculations were rife that former minister Rajib Banerjee, who resigned as cabinet minister and TMC MLA on Friday expelled TMC MLA Baishali Dalmiya and Uttarpara MLA Prabir Ghoshal might join the saffron party on Sunday at the presence of Shah.
According to Zee 24 Ghanta, the defection drive is likely to go ahead as planned with the BJP trying to substitute Shah with another heavyweight party leader.
Reportedly the hindutva party’s national president JP Nadda could visit Kolkata in place of his party’s defacto number two. Shah, meanwhile, could set his foot on Bengal on February 9.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi might also take a two-day tour of the poll-bound state for campaigning on February 7 and 8.
With IANS inputs