What Will Nitin Nabin Focus on During His First Visit to Bengal?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Kolkata, Jan 27 (NationPress) Nitin Nabin, the newly appointed national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is set to make his inaugural visit to West Bengal on Tuesday following his recent election. His two-day itinerary will focus primarily on the West Burdwan district.
According to his schedule, Nabin will arrive at Andal Airport, located near the industrial city of Asansol within West Burdwan, at approximately 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
In the evening, he is expected to participate in a program titled 'Kamal Mela' at Chitralaya Maidan in Durgapur, another industrial locality in the district. Following this event, he will convene with members of the state BJP core committee. On Wednesday, he will depart from Andal Airport after engaging in several events in the Durgapur-Asansol region.
There are speculations surrounding the exclusion of the state capital, Kolkata, from Nabin's visit. Political analysts suggest this decision might be influenced by the demographic composition of West Burdwan, particularly within the industrial towns of Durgapur and Asansol, as well as the coal-producing areas like Jamuria, Andal, and Raniganj.
The non-Bengali populace in the state, especially those speaking Hindi, has traditionally been a loyal voter base for the BJP. The concentration of Hindi-speaking voters is notably high in West Burdwan, especially across its industrial and coal belt regions.
This could be why political observers believe that Nabin has chosen to focus his first visit on this area.
Additionally, experts believe that for the BJP to perform well in the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal, it must prioritize this region, where it still retains a significant voter base.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which marked the BJP's most successful electoral outing in West Bengal, candidates won a majority of seats in this area. However, that success did not carry over into the 2021 Assembly elections or the anticipated 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Hence, observers assert that the BJP is strategically concentrating on this belt.