BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Monday visited Gangasagar in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district and took a dip at the confluence of the River Ganga and the Bay of Bengal before offering prayers at the revered Kapil Muni Ashram.
The BJP chief began the final day of his two-day tour of the state by visiting Gangasagar, the venue of the annual Gangasagar Mela in winter.
Nabin, accompanied by BJP's national general secretary Sunil Bansal, state president Samik Bhattacharya and district leaders, took a dip at the confluence and offered prayers at the Kapil Muni Ashram.
BJP chief's revised itinerary includes Gangasagar visit
Nabin departed the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here by helicopter and reached Gangasagar around 10 am. His visit to Gangasagar, supposedly a last-minute inclusion in his itinerary, was confirmed by the party in a late evening revised schedule on Sunday.
Following his Gangasagar visit, the BJP leader is scheduled to leave for Lok Sanskriti Bhawan at Sodepur in North 24 Parganas district, where he, accompanied by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, is scheduled to participate in the 'Angan Ka Milan' seva programme.
Nabin is also scheduled to attend the 'Yuva Samvad Conclave' at the Space Circle Club in Kolkata later in the day before departing for Delhi.
Visit comes ahead of civic body elections
Nabin's visit to West Bengal, the first since the BJP assumed power in the state, comes days after the party's state wing announced a major organisational reshuffle, including changes in the leadership of its Mahila Morcha and Yuva Morcha and seven organisational districts.
His visit, ahead of the elections to the seven key civic bodies in the state -- including the Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporations --which are likely to take place in November-end, assumes added significance in terms of his oversight of organisational consolidation and poll preparedness of the party.
Nabin holds organisational meetings with state leaders
On Sunday, Nabin held a series of meetings with state office-bearers, district leaders, MPs, MLAs, ministers and other functionaries, with the focus on strengthening coordination between the party organisation and elected representatives.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had said Nabin stressed the need for greater coordination between the party organisation, elected representatives and the state government, while asking party leaders not to interfere with the functioning of the council of ministers.