Union home minister Amit Shah will visit Calcutta on October 27 and is set to hold a meeting of the BJP's extended state committee.

He had earlier planned to reach the city on October 24 but the trip was cancelled because of the forecast of Cyclone Dana.

Shah's one-day visit to the state comes ahead of the bypolls in six Assembly constituencies and is his first trip since the BJP's disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP secured 12 seats, six less than what it had won in the 2019 general election.

Sources in the BJP said Shah would hold a meeting of the extended state committee at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) at Salt Lake, where apart from MPs, MLAs and state-level leaders, the presence of district-level leaders is expected.

BJP sources said the party planned to launch its election campaign with a membership drive linked to a signature collection initiative. BJP national president J.P. Nadda had announced the drive on August 16 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched it on September 2. The membership drive progressed slowly in Bengal because of state BJP leaders' involvement in the R.G. Kar movement.

BJP sources said as Shah would reach Calcutta ahead of the bypolls, he was expected to outline a road map for the campaign and lay the groundwork for the 2026 Assembly elections.

Based on the last Lok Sabha poll results, the Trinamool Congress leads in 192 Assembly constituencies, while the BJP leads in 90. The Congress leads in 11, and the CPM in just one constituency in the 294-member Assembly.

Although the BJP improved its tally from the 2021 Assembly election, where it had won 77 seats, it still fell 31 short of its 2019 Lok Sabha performance, where it had led in 121 Assembly constituencies.

“After completing the organisational meeting, Shah will attend a programme of the Border Security Force (BSF) at Kalyani. From there, he will go to Arambagh in Hooghly district to attend a government event of a cooperative society. Shah is likely to leave the city on Sunday,” a senior BJP leader said.

Shah, if time permits, might hold a meeting with senior state BJP leaders in Calcutta before leaving for Delhi.

However, state BJP leaders are unsure whether the Union home minister will meet the parents of the junior doctor who was raped and murdered at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The parents emailed Shah on Tuesday, seeking a meeting with him.

BJP chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said: “The parents of the deceased doctor have asked for help from the Union home minister and he will take the final decision. It has got nothing to do with the party. If he wants to speak to the parents, the ministry will make the arrangements.”

“The BJP has always been sympathetic with the causes of the doctors and has tried to keep this movement apolitical. We will not do anything which might give this movement a political colour,” added the BJP Rajya Sabha member.

Although the state BJP leadership is enthusiastic about Shah's expected visit, political observers believe the party needs a significant overhaul to make an impact in the next Assembly polls.

"Although there is strong negative sentiment against the ruling dispensation, it’s not enough to make an electoral mark. The BJP has already been outmanoeuvred by the Left in the R.G. Kar movement and must rework strategies if it truly wants to revive the sagging vote bank," a political observer said.