Amit Shah and JP Nadda visited Kolkata to review the BJP’s Bengal strategy; Nirmala Sitharaman will tour flood-ravaged TN district

Nirmala Sitharaman(Union Finance Minister) will visit the flood-ravaged district of Thoothukudi in south Tamil Nadu on Tuesday to review the situation with the district collector, just days after she got involved in a bitter argued with Udhayanidhi Stalin over the allocation of central funds for flood-hit Tamil Nadu.

Her visit comes a day after Sports Minister Udhayanidhi visited Tirunelveli district and gave Rs 58.14 lakh in solatium to families who lost members and farmers whose cattle died owing to rainfall. He visited flood-affected areas of the Eral town panchayat and consoled the residents. He also delivered aid to the locals. On Tuesday, State Public Works and Highways Minister E V Velu visited Srivaikuntam and Alwarthirunagari for the seventh time and observed road restoration work.

In context: The state government’s flood management has allowed the BJP to target the DMK, the state’s ruling party and a key member of the INDIA a united front. The BJP has been attempting to become electorally competitive in the state, but has thus far been able to break the Dravidian parties’ dominance. The minister’s visit and the war of words over flood management come at a time when the DMK has been under fire for an old video in which its MP Dayanidhi Maran said that people from the Hindi heartland states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh come to Tamil Nadu to do menial jobs like cleaning toilets.

The Bengal Roadmap of the BJP

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J P Nadda are in Kolkata for the day to look at the West Bengal organizational setting and plan the party’s strategy in the state.

On Tuesday morning, Shah and Nadda would visit a gurdwara in Jorasanko, north Kolkata, and the Kalighat Temple, south Kolkata. They are due to meet with the state leadership in the afternoon. Following that, both leaders will attend a social media volunteer gathering at the National Library before flying back to Delhi at night. According to party sources, the leaders will deliver a strong message to the state leadership to halt infighting and operate as a single organization in the run-up to the elections. In recent months, BJP workers have taken action against a number of party leaders, including Bankura MP Subhas Sarkar. Anupam Hazra, national secretary of the BJP, recently criticised the state leadership as well.

The upshot is that the BJP will seek to reverse the organizational negates it has suffered in the state since the Assembly elections in 2021 and retain the 18 Lok Sabha seats it won in 2019. In April, Shah set an objective of gaining 35 Lok Sabha seats from the state, although given the state organization’s current situation, this appears to be a difficult feat. With the party having nearly monopolized the Hindi heartland, Maharashtra, the southern states, and West Bengal are the only regions where it might in theory boost its count, thus raising its national haul.

PM’s schedule

Also Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend a “Veer Baal Diwas” celebration in Delhi.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend a function honoring “Veer Baal Diwas,” which remembers the martyrdom of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh. The PM will arrive at the Bharat Mandapam at 10.30 a.m. and will also lead a youth march-past.