BJP sets up committee to draft manifesto for 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls

Ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced a committee to frame its election manifesto. The party’s State Sankalp Patra Committee for the Assembly elections will be headed by a former Trinamool Congress MLA who joined the BJP in March 2024.

Economist and MLA Ashok Lahiri will serve as the convener of the committee, while Agnimitra Paul, MLA from Asansol Dakshin, will be the co-convener. The other members include Chittaranjan Mandal, MP Manoj Tigga, senior BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta, Shishir Bajoria, Amalkanti Ray, Vaishali Dalmia, Anirban Ganguly and State BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar. The development assumes significance as the BJP has involved several senior leaders with a wide range of experience in electoral politics and policy making to prepare the party manifesto.

In another development, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit West Bengal on January 30 and 31. During his two-day tour, Mr. Shah is expected to hold key organisational and political meetings to review preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections. Mr. Shah had visited the State in the last week of December 2025 and addressed a press conference in Kolkata.

Along with Mr. Shah, newly elected BJP president Nitin Nabin will visit the State on January 27. This will be Mr. Nabin’s first visit to West Bengal after assuming office. He is scheduled to visit Durgapur and Asansol, areas considered strongholds of the BJP. The party, however, could not replicate its success in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections during the 2024 parliamentary elections.