The BJP is preparing a blue-print to spread the protests against the junior doctor’s rape and murder to rural areas of Bengal with an apparent aim at strengthening the party in areas where it has traditionally lagged behind the Trinamool Congress.

During a state committee meeting of the BJP held at the party office in Salt Lake on Monday, leaders took stock of the ground situation in Calcutta and beyond following the Supreme Court’s directive to the protesting junior doctors to return to work.

“It was felt that the movement may not have reached rural areas because of various reasons.... But at the same time, there was a recognition that the anti-government mood had begun trickling down to the rural areas and we could play a role in amplifying it,” said a source in the BJP.

“If we can strike a chord with rural people, it will give a big boost to our organisation,” added the source.

An internal survey of the BJP, conducted in December 2022, revealed that out of around 80,000 polling booths in Bengal, 40 per cent of them had committees which were either very weak or existed only on paper. In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the BJP bagged only 12 seats in Bengal, six short of what it had got five years before.

Against this backdrop, the BJP has decided to make a departure from its practice of steering clear of hardcore politics during the festive season and use the period to build on the anti-government mood and boost its organisational presence in the villages.

“It is true that politics generally takes a back seat during the festive season in Bengal. This time, it will be different,” said a BJP leader, before holding Mamata Banerjee responsible for the likely change.

“The chief minister urged the doctors and the public to enter the festive season after the Supreme Court hearing. This comment has paved the way for political tussles during the festive season,” added the leader.

Although the mainstay of the BJP’s festive season activism would be the issue of the junior doctor’s rape and murder and the general law and order, the party is also planning to weave in the issue of corruption to make the
movement more relevant in rural areas.

A source has said that instructions are being sent to district leadership to hold small street corner meetings at railway stations, bus stands and marketplaces, with the presence of local MPs, MLAs and district leaders during the festive period. The plan will be implemented after the Viswakarma Puja on
September 17 with the target of holding multiple such meetings every day in rural areas in all districts.

A BJP mandal leader who was asked to remain prepared to sustain the agitation atmosphere during the festive season said a detailed roster of such meetings was being drawn up in each district.

The BJP is also planning an extensive signature campaign in front of major Puja pandals to express a lack of confidence in the state government and police, a plan tossed by the leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, earlier and subsequently approved by the state committee.

Adhikari had earlier announced plans to stage protests at Nabanna, Lalbazar, and Kalighat (the Chief Minister’s residence) on the same day. But the party is yet to take a final call on holding such large shows in Calcutta at a time when streets are occupied by junior doctors and ordinary people, sympathetic to their cause.

“We can see a certain degree of spontaneity in the movement in Calcutta despite the heavy presence of Left and extreme Left forces. We need to tread with caution before planning something big in Calcutta,” admitted a source.

The realisation that planning something major in Calcutta may be counter-productive is one of the major reasons behind shifting the focus from the state capital, added
the source.

While most Bengal BJP leaders are gung-ho with the manifestation of anti-Mamata mood in the urban areas and are confident of using it to the party’s advantage by exploiting it in rural areas, achieving the target will be easier said than done.

“The politics of rural Bengal is different and it’s a Trinamool stronghold. There is a difference between drawing up ambitious programmes and implementing them at the ground level. We will have to wait and see the response before fully committing ourselves to a full-fledged political campaign in rural Bengal,” said a BJP insider.