BJP national president J.P. Nadda is scheduled to arrive here on Friday night for meetings and programmes over the weekend with the party’s office-bearers at various levels to assess the strength of the organisation and take stock of the situation ahead of the general election next year.

“Naddaji will conduct the Panchayati Raj Sammelan in Howrah on Saturday. He will visit novelist Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s residence and then meet our victorious candidates in the panchayat elections, besides victims of poll-related violence, at the Science City auditorium in Calcutta,” said a state BJP functionary.

The BJP office-bearer added that Nadda was expected to meet the core group of the BJP state leadership at a hotel in New Town late on Saturday evening.

On Sunday, Nadda would offer prayers at the Dakshineswar Kali temple, before meeting the party’s MPs, MLAs, and zilla parishad members from Bengal.

After that, he would meet state BJP office-bearers and handlers of various cells and frontal organisations in Salt Lake.

Following that meeting, Nadda would attend the concluding session of the Panchayati Raj Sammelan and leave for Delhi soon after.

“These meetings with the state leadership are very important, for drawing up strategy for the Lok Sabha polls next year, for which Amitji (Shah) has set a target of 35 seats (of 42 in Bengal) for us,” said a state unit insider.

“Organisational strength remains a major problem area for us in Bengal, and there could be some advice — as well as some scolding — from Naddaji,” he added.

Organising the Panchayati Raj Sammelan was an embarrassing task for the Bengal unit of the BJP, as it is unable to participate in it, as it has not won a single zilla parishad in the recent rural polls. The conference is to be attended by parishad chiefs of the states in the east and the northeast.

“State leaders like Sukanta Majumdar and Suvendu Adhikari might be present, but as a token gesture,” said a state unit leader.

The polls were conducted in 20 zilla parishads of Bengal on July 8 and Trinamul Congress bagged all of them. Out of a total of 928 seats in the parishads, only 31 were won by the BJP.

The ruling dispensation refused to view Nadda’s visit as significant.

“The general election is knocking on our doors, so the BJP’s leadership from elsewhere will keep coming here. None of this makes any real difference. They should ideally focus on restoring peace to strife-torn Manipur instead,” said Trinamul MLA Tapas Roy..