Amit Shah

Besides hoping that the two-day visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on May 5 and 6, will have some positive impact on the declining morale of the party workers, the state leadership is trying hard to persuade Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party's national president J.P. Nadda to visit the state in the coming months and cheer up the party workers through vocal tonic.

In his inaugural address at the Nrupatunga University on the auspicious day of Basava Jayanti, Akshaya Tritiya, and Eid, he said that the Narendra Modi-led government has vowed to realise the dream of making India knowledge-based superpower.

Amit Shah will finalise on the cabinet expansion and strategise for the party in the wake of the Assembly elections in 2023. B.L. Santhosh, the National General Secretary has stirred a hornet's nest in the state by hinting at a massive change in the leadership of the state. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has maintained that the statements were made in the context of civic polls. However, party sources confirm that anything can happen.

The visit has assumed importance in the backdrop of Shah coming with a specific mission of finalising the decision on cabinet expansion or reshuffle. He would also hold talks regarding the various happenings in the state and strategise for the state Assembly elections in 2023.

Amit Shah will arrive in Kolkata on the night of May 4. On May 5, he will first go to Hingalganj in the North 24 Parganas district and attend a function of the Border Security Force (BSF). From there he will head to Siliguri in North Bengal's Darjeeling district and address a public rally at Railway Institute Ground. There is also a possibility of the Home Minister having a meeting with the representatives of different political and non-political organisations based out of Darjeeling on May 5.

The event will be attended by former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, senior BJP leaders and core committee members. BJP leaders in the state have been exerting pressure for a quick decision on the cabinet expansion. They are stressing the fact that only about 10 months are pending for the Karnataka Assembly polls and they won't be able to do anything if more time is consumed for making decisions

It is learnt that the delegation is likely to meet President Kovind at 12 p.m. at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and Home Minister Shah at 9 p.m. In the evening at 4.30 p.m., lawyers of the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and Delhi-NCR district courts, under the banner of "Lawyers for Justice" will hold a peaceful candle march at the India Gate.

Ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the state, he went to Babu Veer Kunwar Singh park and paid tribute at the freedom fighter's statue, surprising the BJP as the latter has been preparing to organise a mega event in Jagdishpur to commemorate the great icon. The BJP is organising this event to prove its power to the Janata Dal (United) and the RJD in Bihar.

Amit Shah, who arrived at the Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport on board a chartered plane at 12.20 p.m., was received by Governor Phagu Chauhan, Nitish Kumar, BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal and other senior leaders. A picture of the closed-door meeting was doing the rounds on social media, which shows Nitish Kumar sitting along side Shah and Jaiswal.

Shah is visiting Bihar to participate in a programme organised to remember freedom fighter Babu Veer Kunwar Singh in Bhojpur's Jagdishpur. According to sources in the JD(U), if Amit Shah talks about any controversial issues like "Uniform Civil Code" during the rally in Bhojpur's Jagdishpur or in Sasaram, it might irk Nitish Kumar.