J P Nadda arrives in Kolkata, to hold meetings during 2-day Bengal visit

BJP national president J P Nadda arrived in Kolkata for a two-day visit to West Bengal during which he will hold organisational meetings, a party leader said.

Nadda was received at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Dumdum on Tuesday evening by senior BJP leaders including state president Sukanta Majumdar.

On Wednesday morning, he will visit Vande Mataram Bhavan at Chinsurah in Hooghly district, where novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay had penned the National Song.

He will also visit Rashbehari Bose Research Institute at Chandannagore in the district.

Later in the afternoon, the BJP chief will attend the state executive body meeting at National Library in South Kolkata.

On Thursday, Nadda will hold a meeting with public representatives of the party and mandal (local unit) presidents.

Nadda's West Bengal visit takes place at a time when the party looks forward to rejuvenating its organisational machinery, which has witnessed internal squabbling and defections since the 2021 assembly polls.

In May, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had visited the state and advised the state unit of the BJP to strengthen the organisation to fight the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Nadda's visit assumes significance as the party's central leadership plans to strengthen the state unit by addressing the shortcomings ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, party sources said.

The state BJP has been plagued by infighting and exodus, with former Union minister Babul Supriyo, Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh, and five MLAs including national vice-president Mukul Roy, joining the TMC in the last one year after the assembly polls.