Kolkata: Hours before his name was announced as the national president of BJP, Nitin Nabin held his first meeting with Bengal BJP netas to take stock of the party's poll preparedness and SIR issues. Sources said Nabin was likely to visit Bengal by end of this month.
Nabin began his meeting on Tuesday asking state netas to build a strong narrative of change around the party's slogan to bring forth a change in Bengal this time. BJP's poll slogan "paltano dorkar, chai BJP sarkar" made its debut during Union home minister Amit Shah's visit to Bengal last month. The new BJP chief asked netas to assess the factors and agents of change in the state and build campaigns around these.
"Nitin Nabin is a mature politician and has been in politics for a long time. He knows that Bengal has made up its mind this time to bring a change," Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said.
Sources said Nabin asked the BJP state unit to primarily focus on six major issues, beside infiltration. "The state's economic condition, gaps and failures in healthcare infrastructure, educational infrastructure, women's safety and the rise in crimes against women in the state, and appeasement are the key issues he wanted us to focus on. He also wants to bring the plight of migrant workers and the flight of workers from Bengal into focus," said a Bengal BJP senior.
While Nabin paid tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee in an X post immediately after his swearing-in, he said during the oath-taking speech: "Polls are going to be held in Bengal, and the changing demography in Bengal is being discussed. How things are changing there with the change in demography...We will have to emerge as a strong force in the forthcoming polls in 5 states."
According to sources, state BJP netas have briefed Nabin about the trouble party workers were facing during submission of Form 7. Amitava Chakraborty, general secretary (organisation), briefed him about booth-level preparations.