Editor's Pick: Election campaign turns Centre-State spat

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

The Union Home Ministry has summoned the West Bengal Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police to attend a meeting on the attack on BJP chief J.P. Nadda's convoy in West Bengal's Diamond Harbour. The attack had injured several senior State BJP leaders.

The Chief Secretary has written back to the Centre to be exempted from the meeting, and assured it that the State was looking into the issue seriously. The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has accused the Centre of interference, saying that law and order is a State subject. The head-to-head fight between the BJP and the TMC has been ongoing ever since the former picked up 18 of the State's 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections.

Having shown itself to be a credible political force in the State, the BJP went into election mode early with a "Now, Bengal" slogan announced right after the NDA win in Bihar. The West Bengal unit of the party also announced that Home Minister Amit Shah or party chief Nadda will be in the State every month till the election.

The BJP campaign is focusing on the Citizenship Amendment Act that grants citizenship to Hindu refugees from other countries, a considerable population in the State. During Amith Shah's visit to the State in November, he visited a home from the Matua community, who are Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. His next visit, set for this month, could see much stronger rhetoric after the attack on Nadda's convoy.

The BJP is known for its well-oiled electioneering machine, while TMC leader Mamata Banerjee is also a strong campaigner. However, with the convoy attack, the heated campaign has spilled over to becoming a Centre-State spat. This is what makes the story important.

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