Kolkata, July 26 -- As Kolkata's civic map undergoes its biggest redraw ahead of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections, the BJP is reportedly quietly working on a political blueprint that could reshape the contest for the city's governing body.
The ward delimitation report is expected to be placed before the Municipal Commissioner, who is also the administrator of the KMC, on Monday. With the civic polls expected towards the end of the year, the saffron party has already begun fine-tuning its electoral strategy.
According to BJP sources, the party's internal assessment indicates that nearly 150 of the approximately 200 proposed wards could have a majority-Hindu electorate after the delimitation exercise. The BJP plans to contest these wards on its own symbol, making them the core battleground of its campaign.
The more significant political calculation, however, lies in the remaining minority-dominated wards. Sources said the BJP is weighing backing a newly formed political bloc rather than entering the fray directly. Such an arrangement, party insiders believe, could help consolidate anti-Trinamool votes while enabling the BJP to expand its influence in the civic body without contesting every seat.
The strategy has emerged after a series of meetings at the BJP's state headquarters, where leaders have discussed the likely electoral impact of the new ward boundaries. Party leaders are also understood to favour a delimitation that produces a clearer demographic divide between majority- and minority- dominated wards rather than closely balanced constituencies.
The calculations come amid an evolving Opposition landscape following the split in the Trinamool Congress. With rival factions expected to test their strength in the civic polls, political observers believe Kolkata could witness an unusually complex multi-cornered contest.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.