Kolkata, Jan 9 (PTI) Aiming to reach out to farmers ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal, BJP chief J P Nadda on Saturday collected fistfuls of rice from five farmers’ households in Purba Barddhaman district.
The BJP’s ‘Chal Songroho’ (rice collection) drive under its ‘Krishak Suraksha Abhiyan’ was conducted in Jagadanandapur village in Katwa.
Accompanied by West Bengal BJP leaders including the party’s state unit chief Dilip Ghosh, Nadda spoke with farmers to know about their condition and pasted posters of the campaign on the walls of their houses as women blew conch shells.
“We are happy that he visited our houses and ate sweets offered by us. He took one fistful of rice from each household and put them in his ‘jhola’ (bag),” local resident Aparna Mondal told reporters.
Nadda then had lunch in the kuccha house of another farmer Mathura Mondal.
The BJP chief had a Bengali vegetarian meal comprising ‘shukto’, ‘shak bhaja’, fried brinjals, crispy potato fries, chutney and ‘payesh’, cooked by Mondal’s wife.
“We are happy that such a big person had lunch at our home,” she said.
Earlier in the day, Nadda began his day-long visit to the state by offering puja at Katwa’s centuries-old Radha Gobinda temple, which is revered by locals.
He was greeted by women ‘dhakis’ near the temple’s main gate.
Nadda and Ghosh spent some time inside the temple, while police cordoned off the premises as BJP supporters gathered there to have a glimpse of their party chief.
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly are due in April-May.
