Amit Shah sets clear target for Bengal BJP, says 'want 22 of 28 seats from in and around Kolkata'

Union Home minister Amit Shah (file image)

• Amit Shah urges BJP to target 22 of 28 seats in Kolkata for 2026 Bengal polls
• Shah calls for unity, ending factionalism among BJP leaders in West Bengal
• BJP leaders told to spend 4 days a week in constituencies, hold 5 meetings daily

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In a concerted effort to add momentum to its preparations for taking on the ruling Trinamool Congress in the 2026 assembly elections in the state, Union Home Minister on Wednesday, setting a specific number for the BJP workers said that the party needs to target 22 out of 28 seats from areas in and around Kolkata.

Addressing party workers in Kolkata on Wednesday, Shah urged BJP functionaries in Bengal to mentally lock in victory in the 2026 assembly elections. "Dil pe likh lo, is baar hamari sarkar (Write it on your hearts, this time it's our govt)," Shah said Wednesday, hours before leaving for Delhi.

Kolkata district and adjoining urban pockets include constituencies such as Jadavpur, Dumdum, and central neighbourhoods like Jorasanko and Shyampukur. The saffron party failed to win a single assembly seat in these areas in the 2021 state polls, but led in Jorasanko and Shyampukur during the 2024 LS election count.

Shah arrived in Kolkata on Monday and concluded his three-day visit to the city on Wednesday with a meeting with the legislators, parliamentarians, and councillors of the BJP from across West Bengal, along with the leaders holding key positions in the party organisations.

The Home Minister asked for the end of factionalism within the party and brought Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, and Dilip Ghosh, the former state president of the party, together, although they were purported to be at loggerheads.

Putting BJP’s state machinery in poll mode, Shah asked the party’s public representatives, be it in the state assembly, or in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, or the municipalities or panchayats, to spend at least four days a week in their respective constituencies and hold at least five meetings daily. He made it clear that the aspirants for the BJP’s nominations for contesting the assembly elections would have to prove their mettle over the next three months.

Doubling down on the ruling TMC, Shah on Tuesday alleged that Mamata’s Trinamool Congress government was endangering the national security of India by facilitating illegal migration from Bangladesh and allowing them to settle down in West Bengal for vested political interests.