New Delhi, Jan 6 (IANS): The BJP is all set to deploy its central leaders in West Bengal to campaign for the panchayat polls as well as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, National President J.P. Nadda and other central leaders will campaign in the state for the panchayat elections, a source said.

According to the source, the party will hold 40 big rallies across Bengal. Nadda will kick off the campaign from Nandigram in January. Later, Prime Minister Modi, Shah and other leaders will hold meetings across the state.

The panchayat polls will be crucial as it is being seen as a "litmus test" for both - the TMC and the Opposition BJP - ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In 2019 general elections, the BJP managed to win 18 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. In 2021, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress registered its third consecutive victory with a sweeping majority in the state Assembly polls.