Amit Shah’s Year-End Visit To Bengal: Kolkata Camp To Set BJP’s 2026 Pitch | Exclusive

Amit Shah’s Year-End Visit To Bengal: Kolkata Camp To Set BJP’s 2026 Pitch | Exclusive CNN-News18 has reliably learnt that Shah will spend the evening of December 29 to 31 in Kolkata, packing his brief visit with high-level political and organisational engagements. With Bihar effectively ticked off the checklist, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to ring in the year-end in West Bengal, signalling a clear sharpening of the BJP’s political focus on the state ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. CNN-News18 has reliably learnt that Shah will spend the evening of December 29 to 31 in Kolkata, packing his brief visit with high-level political and organisational engagements. Recommended Stories According to initial plans, Shah will land in Kolkata on the 29th at 7 pm and head straight to the BJP office, where he will take stock of the state’s organisational progress so far. The Home Minister is likely to hold a “big bang" press conference in Kolkata on December 30. A luncheon interaction with senior journalists is also on the anvil the same day, indicating that Shah’s visit is as much about shaping the narrative as it is about internal party strategy. However, no final call has been taken on this event, say sources in the Bengal BJP. BJP sources say Shah will chair multiple organisational meetings during his stay, reviewing the party’s preparedness, booth-level feedback and future roadmap. Notably, no public rally has been planned yet, suggesting that this visit is more of a closed-door stock-taking exercise rather than a mass mobilisation event. Shah is slated to hold a closed-door meeting with functionaries of the RSS on the 30th. Apart from that meeting, during his stay in Kolkata, he will hold a separate meeting with the BJP’s MPs and MLAs, which is likely to be held at the Science City auditorium. Over and above these meetings, Shah is likely to be present at the BJP’s organisational meetings and see for himself how the top brass of the Bengal unit is preparing to take on Mamata Banerjee. Sources in the BJP told News18 that on the 31st, Shah is likely to visit the house of one or more Bengali icons. More than one source in the BJP indicates that Shah may visit one of the two places, if not both - the residence of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, author of Vande Mataram , whose 150 years is being celebrated by the Centre this year, and the residence of Margaret Elizabeth Noble, better known as Sister Nivedita. However, there is a strong push from the state unit to take the Home Minister beyond Kolkata. Party insiders reveal that efforts are afoot to include at least one or two districts adjoining the city in Shah’s itinerary, areas where the BJP’s electoral performance in the 2021 Assembly elections was particularly weak. But it may not be possible this time around. The timing of Shah’s visit is also significant. From 2026 onwards, BJP sources indicate, the tempo of the party’s campaign in Bengal...

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