Union Home Minister Amit Shah, also serving as the country’s first Cooperation Minister, will hold a crucial meeting with around 3,000 farmers in Hooghly’s Arambagh on October 24. The event, part of the Modi government’s initiative to strengthen the cooperative movement, will take place at Kalipur Maidan, near Arambagh town.
Shah is expected to discuss various farmer-friendly schemes launched by the central government, including a national plan to establish two lakh primary agricultural credit societies (PACS). Bengal currently has 5,000 PACS, with 4,600 of them actively operational.
The meeting is seen as a politically significant move for the BJP, which has struggled to gain traction in Bengal’s agrarian regions. A BJP leader revealed that farmers from districts like East Burdwan, Bengal’s rice bowl, will attend the event.
Despite the BJP’s efforts, the party has faced setbacks in Bengal’s agrarian belts, losing key seats to the Trinamool Congress in recent elections. The BJP hopes Shah’s outreach will help bridge this gap ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
However, the Trinamool government’s popular schemes, such as Krishak Bandhu and free crop insurance, have garnered significant support among farmers, making BJP’s efforts more challenging. Additionally, the CPM’s Kisan Sabha remains influential in parts of Hooghly and East Burdwan.