Amit Shah went around the locality and nearby pockets of the constituency (File)
Kolkata:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah today went on a door-to-door electioneering drive around Kolkata’s Bhabanipur Assembly constituency – considered to be West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s backyard.
Amit Shah was in Kolkata to drum up support for actor-turned-BJP candidate Rudranil Ghosh, a political newbie fielded from the south Kolkata area which has a sizeable Gujarati population.
The women welcomed Amit Shah by blowing conch shells and applying “tilak” on his forehead as he visited their homes and handed over leaflets asking people to vote for BJP.
“Kamal chinho mein vote dijiye (cast your vote on the lotus symbol)”, Mr Shah was heard telling the residents with folded hands.
Bhabanipur, with its sizeable Gujarati population, was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s pocket borough till she decided to switch to Nandigram this election.
Besides, Rudranil Ghosh, Amit Shah was accompanied by BJP’s Tarakeswar candidate Swapan Dasgupta, party workers and state leaders.
As the union minister went around the locality and nearby pockets of the constituency, the police, commandos and BJP volunteers had a trying time to maintain security without disrupting his outreach programme.
“Mark my words, BJP is going to win Bhabanipur seat by a huge margin like other seats,” Amit Shah told reporters before leaving.
Later Amit Shah had a vegetarian Bengali lunch at the residence of BJP old-timer and state leader Samarendraprasad Biswas in the constituency.