Kolkata, Feb 25 The West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is focusing on minute pocket-specific issues in the state to finalise the draft election manifesto for the forthcoming Assembly polls.
“While there are certain macro issues that are common for all the zones or pockets in the state in the current complicated political situation in West Bengal, there are also region or pocket-specific issues. So this time, our focus is to highlight minute pocket-specific issues and how we propose to address those in our manifesto,” said a state committee member of the BJP, who is actively involved in the process of preparing the party manifesto.
At the same time, he added, there is an attempt to come out with a separate mini-manifesto exclusively covering the issues specific to the eight districts in North Bengal, namely Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Malda.
“The main and detailed manifesto covering the state-wide issues, as usual, will obviously be there. But this time, there will be an attempt to bring out a mini-manifesto covering the issues in North Bengal,” the state committee member.
According to the Chief Whip of the BJP’s legislative party in the Assembly, Shankar Ghosh, who is himself a party legislator from Siliguri constituency in North Bengal, the plan for a separate North Bengal-specific manifesto is being planned keeping in mind the requirements, demands, and aspirations of the people from the region.
“As you are aware, our party this time is conducting a ‘Sankalp Patra Paramarsha Yatra' (Manifesto Consultation Drive) programme, under which drop boxes to seek people's opinions on the election manifesto have been placed in several locations across West Bengal. Based on the important suggestions received at those drop boxes placed in North Bengal, we are planning to come out with a separate North Bengal-specific manifesto this time,” Ghosh said.
Political observers feel that this separate North Bengal-specific manifesto is also prompted by the fact that while in South Bengal, Trinamool Congress is well ahead of BJP, the picture was opposite in North Bengal.
“Even in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election, Trinamool Congress swept in most districts except a few like Bankura, Purulia, and East Midnapore. BJP maintained its supremacy in North Bengal by winning 30 out of 54 Assembly constituencies. Maintaining that electoral supremacy in North Bengal is very important for the BJP this time as well, and the proposal for the separate North Bengal-specific manifesto is prompted by those compulsions,” a city-based political observer said.
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