India, Nov. 16 -- The BJP's instinct for staying several steps ahead of the electoral calendar was unmistakable last week, with the party shifting its organisational focus to West Bengal even before the Bihar Assembly results were declared. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had already signalled to the party cadre that Bengal is the next major battleground, reinforcing the message that the BJP's campaign machinery never really stops. One election winds down only for another to gather speed.

A day before the Bihar verdict came out, the party quietly finalised a list of leaders from Chhattisgarh ministers, general secretaries and secretaries who would now be deployed in West Bengal to take charge of preparations for ...