J.P. Nadda and B.L. Santhosh, the national president and the general secretary of the BJP, respectively, have convened a meeting of all MPs and senior functionaries of the party from Bengal on December 19 in New Delhi.

The call from the capital came on Friday evening and the invitees were asked to remain present at the residence of party MP and national vice-president Dilip Ghosh for the meeting.

This will be the first such meeting since 2020 when all Bengal BJP MPs were asked to turn up in Delhi for a closed door session.

Bengal’s leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has also been invited to the December 19 meeting, which would be attended by the party’s minders for Bengal Sunil Bansal and Mangal Pandey, along with their deputies Asha Lakra and Amit Malviya.

“Two years ago, all MPs were called for a similar meeting at Dilipda’s house in Delhi. It was convened by then minder for Bengal, Kailash Vijayvargiyaji,” an MP said.

According to sources, the timing of the meeting is significant as the Bengal BJP is preparing for the upcoming panchayat polls, the semi-final before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It is expected that Nadda and Santhosh will assign specific responsibilities to the MPs and Adhikari ahead of the rural elections, a source said.

“The panchayat polls will be a great opportunity to test our strength so that by 2024, we can mend our possible shortcomings. We believe Naddaji and Santhoshji will give us guidance,” another MP said.

In the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, the BJP had bagged 18 seats. However, after the resignation of Babul Supriyo and the defection of Arjun Singh, the number has come down to 16. In the Rajya Sabha, BJP doesn’t have any member from Bengal .

A source said, before the meeting in Delhi, state leaders will assemble in Calcutta on December 15 and 16 in the presence of Bansal and Pandey.