With the Bengal Assembly polls just months away, the Opposition BJP has started preparing for the big political fight after the conclusion of Durga Puja.

Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav and former Tripura CM Biplab Deb, the newly nominated BJP observer and co-observer for the 2026 state polls, respectively, arrived in Kolkata on Friday morning and held the first round of consultations with top state BJP leaders to prepare a roadmap for the upcoming Assembly polls and discuss strategies to counter the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The two observers held the meeting with state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, and several national-level leaders, including Bengal minders Sunil Bansal, Satish Dhand and Amit Malviya.

According to a senior BJP leader, the party does not want to waste any more time. He said, “This election will decide the fate of the party, either we perform or we perish. That is why right after Durga Puja, the meeting was scheduled, as time is a very important factor now.”

Another senior party leader said that stress was laid on the organisational aspect of the party. “Once the new state committee is announced, then the party will concentrate on its performance in the districts and will be looking into seats where it has a big chance of winning. A list of all the booths where the BJP has a high chance of winning has been sought by the two observers. Further discussions were also held on identifying the localities and booths where the party is strong. Previously, everything was viewed in the macro narrative form, but this time, the party is looking into the micro aspects. The party wants to concentrate booth-wise,” he added.

According to sources, the Bengal BJP unit has been asked not to lose Matua, Rajbanshi, tribal, and Kurmi vote banks. They added that party leaders have also decided to use issues like corruption, unemployment, infiltration, appeasement politics, and women’s safety against CM Mamata Banerjee.

Discussions were also held regarding the strategy to be adopted in countering the narrative of rival parties on the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal.

A senior party leader said, “It is the first party meeting and Bhupendra Yadav took stock of the party’s performance in the 2021 elections and its failures and mistakes. This time, he has made it very clear that none of the previous mistakes should be repeated and each step should be taken very seriously.”

According to a party insider, a major reason for the BJP’s loss in the 2021 Assembly polls was internal rifts: “This time the party does not want history to be repeated, but history to be made by ousting the TMC.”

Yadav has been credited for handling the poll machinery of the BJP and securing the party’s win in the Maharashtra polls last year.

Speaking to the media on Friday evening, BJP state chief Shamik Bhattacharya said, “This is a national party, not a family-run party or a regional party. So, yes, discussions were held regarding elections. They (the observers) have been appointed to assist the party for the upcoming polls, and that is why the meeting was held.”

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Calcutta High Court vacation bench of Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury directed the police to grant permission to the BJP-backed group ‘Khola Hawa’ to hold a candle march for electrocution victims during the recent rain in Kolkata.

The organisation wanted to hold the rally from College Square to Dorina Crossing in the city on Sunday from 4 pm to 7 pm; however, the court observed that the timings must be adjusted in view of immersion processions of College Square and Mohammad Ali Park Durga Pujas. On the same day, the state government will hold the Puja Carnival some distance away on Red Road.