With the West Bengal Assembly elections just months away, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking to connect with the people of Bengal during the Durga Puja festivities.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to arrive in Kolkata late Thursday evening, days after the city was inundated by torrential rain. According to his itinerary, he will spend the night at a private hotel in New Town.

Shah will first inaugurate the Durga Puja at Santosh Mitra Square, whose theme this year is “Operation Sindoor” — the military offensive India launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terrorist attacks at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. The pandal will beam images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force and Colonel Sophiya Qureshi of the Indian Army, who briefed the media during the offensive and became the faces of India’s military response against Pakistan.

After this, the Home Minister is likely to visit Kalighat Kali Temple to offer prayers and seek blessings of Goddess Maa Kali.

Speaking to The Indian Express, BJP leader Sajal Ghosh, chief organiser of the Santosh Mitra Square Puja, said: “I do not wish to tie puja with elections. He is our leader, our pride, we want someone like him. We are happy that he is coming.” Ghosh said that they had received four letters from the Kolkata Police regarding crowd management and following instructions, alleging that their Puja was singled out “due to the theme we have selected”.

Later in the evening, Shah is also expected to inaugurate the Durga Puja organised by the BJP at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), an annual event of the party’s Bengal unit.

In recent months, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the Centre of being “anti-Bengali,” alleging that Bengalis working in other states are being deported to Bangladesh. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, has already begun inaugurating Puja pandals across the state.