Kolkata: The West Bengal BJP is rolling out a ‘Paribartan Yatra’, its largest statewide campaign in recent years, to regain ground after the party’s 2021 losses and build pressure on the ruling TMC before the assembly elections. It aims to reconnect with voters and strengthen its revamped local network.
Set to start on March 1 — a day after updated electoral rolls from the Special Intensive Revision are released — this 5,000-km yatra is designed to ensure public outreach with tests of organisational readiness and turning booth-level efforts into visible street mobilisation.
The BJP plans to connect directly with 1-1.5 crore people. “This yatra will be a total game-changer for us in the polls,” a top state leader told PTI.
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar hailed it as “the next step in Bengal’s democratic revival.”
Nine separate yatras will start from Cooch Behar, Krishnanagar, Kulti, Garbeta, Raidighi, Islampur, Hasan, Sandeshkhali, and Amta. They’ll cover every assembly constituency before ending in a huge rally at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to speak.
The routes are carefully chosen. Given that BJP derives its strengths in north Bengal and industrial hubs like Kulti and Asansol, the yatra will enter enters TMC turf in places like Raidighi and Sandeshkhali.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will launch the yatra from Raidighi in South 24 Parganas—a district which has not a single BJP MLA and and widely regarded as a TMC bastion and political turf of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Party insiders say it’s no accident. “Amit Shah ji starting here sends a clear message: We’re storming TMC’s forts, not hiding in safe spots,” one senior functionary explained.
With top national leaders like BJP chief Nitin Nabin, JP Nadda and Rajnath Singh to pitch in heavily, it will underline Delhi’s focus on Bengal even as TMC mocks it as over-reliance on outsiders.
After grabbing 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and mounting a fierce challenge in 2021 with a series of star rallies, saffron party couldn’t topple Mamata Banerjee’s government.
The loss sparked infighting, leader exits, and sagging cadre spirit. Many who joined via earlier “Jogdan Melas” slipped away, and district units lost steam.
“After 2021, district leadership fights left cadres lost. This yatra is about restoring faith,” a BJP leader said.
