Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit West Bengal on February 18 to participate in key events ahead of the 2026 State Assembly elections.
According to the itinerary, Shah will arrive at Kolkata airport around 1:30 pm and proceed by helicopter to Mayapur. He is expected to spend nearly two hours at the ISKCON temple in Mayapur, where he will attend the 152nd birth anniversary celebrations of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.
The visit comes at a time when the political atmosphere in West Bengal is intensifying in the run-up to the Assembly elections. Shah’s engagements are being closely watched as part of the BJP’s broader outreach strategy in the state.
In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi,” the Ministry of Cooperation under Amit Shah has undertaken major structural reforms aimed at modernising and enhancing transparency in the cooperative sector, according to an official release.
As part of these initiatives, a high-level ‘Manthan’ Meeting of Cooperation Ministers from States and Union Territories will be held on February 17, 2026, at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, with Shah presiding.
The meeting will bring together Cooperation Ministers and senior officials from across the country to review the Ministry’s initiatives, assess progress, share best practices, and chalk out a coordinated roadmap for the future.
Key agenda items include the establishment of 200,000 new Multi-Purpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), along with dairy and fisheries cooperative societies to strengthen the rural economy. Discussions will also focus on expanding the nationwide network of modern warehouses under the world’s largest grain storage programme to improve storage capacity, ensure price stability, and enhance market access for farmers.
