Siliguri, Feb. 24 -- Describing North Bengal as "strategically more important than Kolkata," senior BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta on Tuesday underscored the region's crucial role in the party's electoral roadmap for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Addressing a consultative meeting on the preparation of the BJP's Sankalp Patra (manifesto) in Siliguri, Dr Dasgupta said the party had deliberately chosen to engage directly with citizens rather than draft the manifesto from Kolkata.
"We could have prepared the manifesto sitting in Kolkata, but we are here to listen to people from different walks of life so that their concerns and aspirations are reflected," he said.
Emphasising the political stakes, he added, "This ele...