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Ahead of the fourth phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, Union Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah on Friday had lunch at the residence of a founding member of the party in Kolkata, Samarendra Prasad Biswas.
A source had earlier confirmed that Shah did this in order to give recognition to party workers. Octogenarian Samarendra Prosad Biswas, a former Jansangh karyakarta, was one of the founding members of the BJP in the state. "Biswas is an 89-year-old Jansangh worker and also a BJP founder member. He became a member of the BJP on April 6, 1980, and has since played a crucial role in strengthening the organisation. Having lunch at his home would be a very sweet gesture by Shah," the source said on Thursday. Party leaders Swapan Dasgupta and Dinesh Trivedi were also present at the gathering. While speaking to ANI earlier about the menu, the veteran leader's daughter Chaiti had said, "We stressed on Bengali cuisine. There will be luchi, roti, chholar dal, begun bhaja, kumro (pumpkin) bhaja, patal sabzi, chanar (cheese) dalna, dhokar dalna, bhindi sabzi, mango chatni, papad and five types of special sweets of Kolkata in the lunch." As per a tweet by the BJP leader's office, Shah's schedule for the rest of the day includes a roadshow in Jagatdal at 4 pm and another one in Madhyamgram at 6 pm. The fourth of the eight-phase assembly elections will be held in 44 assembly seats on April 10, followed by the fifth phase of polls on April 1. Results will be declared on May 2. Earlier on Wednesday, Shah had had lunch at the house of a rickshaw puller, who is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter in West Bengal's Domjur area during his campaign Rajib Banerjee, the BJP candidate for the constituency, was also present also along with Shah. After having his meal, Shah said: "I visited only one gram panchayat but with the enthusiasm I saw, I am confident that Rajib Banerjee will win with a majority." (ANI)
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