Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said he would pray to Goddess Durga that the alleged reign of corruption and injustice in Bengal would end soon as he inaugurated a pandal in central Calcutta.

Although the BJP leader said the sole purpose of his visit to the city was to seek the blessings of Goddess Durga, his words and actions — during his one-and-a-half-hour stay in Calcutta — proved otherwise.

“I came here today only to seek blessings from Maa Durga. I will not make any political statements here,” Shah said in his opening remarks at the Santosh Mitra Square Puja pandal which has the upcoming Ram temple in Ayodhya as its theme.

“But I will keep coming to West Bengal and will put all possible force for a change (in Bengal) as soon as possible,” he added while addressing an audience comprising the who’s who of the saffron camp in Bengal.

Soon, it became apparent that politics was a priority of Shah’s trip.

“I will pray for peace and happiness for the people of Bengal and the entire country. In the case of Bengal, I will also pray that this reign of corruption, injustice and atrocities come to an end soon,” said Shah who flew into the city after holding a BJP campaign rally in poll-bound Chattisgarh.

The Puja is organised by Calcutta BJP councillor Sajal Ghosh.

A source in the BJP said the Union home minister’s visit to Bengal was primarily political as he wanted to boost the morale of the party’s state unit in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

“We were very keen on Amitji inaugurating a few Pujas in the state and he was also warm to the idea.... But given his tough schedule because of the polls in five states, getting his date was an issue. Finally, we got confirmation of his arrival only yesterday (Sunday) evening,” said a BJP MLA, who was present at the inauguration.

BJP national president J.P. Nadda will inaugurate two Pujas on October 20.

Although the BJP fared much below expectation in the 2021 Assembly polls, Shah has already set an ambitious target of the party bagging 35 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal in the 2024 general election.

A BJP leader present at the Puja inauguration event on Monday said meeting the target would be easier said than done unless the preparations for the polls began immediately.

“Durga Puja is the best time to connect with people.... Amitji’s visit will give the party’s rank and file encouragement to launch an effective reach-out programme,” said a source.

This time, Bengal BJP leaders are behind at least 25 Durga Pujas across the state. The party has also asked its leaders to actively participate in at least one popular Puja in their areas.

During his trip to Calcutta, Shah also sent a strong message — with a subtle action — to the party on the contentious issue of leadership in Bengal, said sources.

“When our state president Sukanta Majumdar was delivering his address, Amitji sent our MP and junior union minister Nisith Pramanik to him.... It was clear that he wanted the state president to wrap up his speech. Sukanta had not even spoken for two minutes, but he promptly ended his speech after getting the message. On the contrary, Suvendu-da (Adhikari) went on addressing the gathering for more than three-and-a-half-minutes, without any interruption,” said the source.

According to the source, Shah made it clear that Adhikari — though not
holding any key party position — was one of the most important leaders in the BJP in Bengal.

“The message was important as Suvenduda is often slighted by state BJP leaders, holding important posts,” added the source.

Another state BJP leader, however, said Shah wanted Majumdar to cut short his speech as he was in a hurry to leave for the airport.