Amit Shah forms 15-member election management committee for Bengal

KOLKATA: The BJP on Tuesday constituted a 15-member election management committee for West Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled next year.

The election management committee was formed during a core committee meeting of the BJP’s West Bengal unit here, which was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and attended by party President J.P. Nadda, sources said.

It is learnt that four members of the said committee will be BJP’s central observers for West Bengal, namely Sunil Bansal, Amit Malviya, Asha Lakra and Mangal Pandey.

The other heavyweight members in the committee will include state BJP President Sukanta Majumdar, leader of opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, former national Vice President of the party Dilip Gosh, and former National Secretary Rahul Sinha, among others.

Party insiders said the committee will be responsible for all election-related activities in West Bengal, including finalising the schedule and nature of campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

It is learnt that the committee will also prepare the initial list of probable candidates for the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal.

“Based on the list provided by the committee, the party’s central leadership will prepare the final list of candidates,” said a state committee member of the BJP.

Political observers feel that the new committee is aimed at serving a dual purpose -- to streamline the organisational and campaign activities in an orchestrated manner, and to have a total check on possible infighting within the party in certain districts.