Kolkata, Jul 24 (PTI) The BJP central leadership has been conducting a brainstorming session with the top brass of its Bengal unit to assess the party's organisational strength and weakness ahead of the 2021 assembly polls.

The four-day-long meeting began in Delhi on Thursday and will continue till Sunday.

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"The meeting will be held in multiple stages. All the aspects of our organisation in the state -- both strengths and areas where we need to improve -- are being discussed," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.

The first round of meetings were being held between Ghosh, state general secretaries, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, Arvind Menon and BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh to assess the BJP's organisational strength in the Assembly segments.

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According to state BJP sources, more than 100 out of 294 assembly seats have been reviewed so far.

"We have been asked to consolidate our support base among SCs, STs, OBCs and in areas where we have made huge inroads during the last Lok Sabha polls," a senior BJP leader said.

West Bengal BJP leaders are also likely to hold a meeting with party national president J P Nadda later this week.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Mukul Roy, who was in Delhi for the meeting, returned to Kolkata on Friday. Roy claimed that he was not aware the meeting would continue for three-four days and he has an appointment with a doctor to attend.

To this, Dilip Ghosh said everybody was informed about the schedule of the meeting in advance.

The meeting comes at a time when Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee Thursday carried out a major organisational reshuffle by inducting several new faces and axing some old guards, with the thrust of the changes on toning up the party in areas where it has yielded ground to the BJP.

West Bengal is scheduled to go on polls in April-May next year with Banerjee completing a decade in office.

The leadership changes within the TMC were expected amid a growing challenge from the BJP, which has emerged as the main opposition party by winning 18 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019, bringing down the TMC's tally to 22 from 34. PTI PNT NSD 07242321 NNNNfrom the start and Kroos opened the scoring with a shot into the top corner in the fourth minute. Ramos added to the lead from close range in the 30th after a pass by Hazard, who started the buildup for Marcelo's strike from inside the area in the 37th.

Eibar, sitting two points outside the relegation zone, got its only goal from Pedro Bigas in the 60th.

Ramos had scored the first goal at the Alfredo Di Stéfano when it was inaugurated with an exhibition match in 2006.

"The truth is we are all thrilled to be back on the field again," Ramos said.

"We couldn't wait for the league to start again, to compete again, and the best way to do that is with a win."

Madrid is expected to play all of its remaining home matches at the Alfredo Di Stéfano because the Bernabéu will continue to undergo renovation work during the summer.

The club is likely to remain at the stadium for the rest of the season even if fans are allowed back before then, which the league has said is a possibility.

ATLÉTICO HELD

Atlético Madrid's struggles continued as its season resumed after being held 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao for its third straight league draw.

The setback kept Diego Simeone's team in sixth place, outside the Champions League spots.

The goals at the empty San Mamés Stadium came a couple of minutes apart late in the first half, with Athletic's Iker Muniain scoring in the 37th and Atlético equalizing with Diego Costa in the 39th for his first goal since last October.

During the celebration, Costa held the jersey of Atlético women's team player Virginia Torrecilla, who is recovering from brain surgery to remove a tumor.

It was the 13th league draw for Atlético, which has only two wins in its last nine league matches.

"We earned a draw at a tough place but we need to start winning three points if we want to stay in contention to qualify for the Champions League," Atlético midfielder Jorge "Koke" Resurrección said.

"It will be difficult if we don't start winning matches."

Atlético's last match before the break had been an away victory against Liverpool that eliminated the titleholders in the Champions League round of 16. But Atlético had drawn its last two league matches — against Sevilla and Espanyol — to drop in the standings and remain far from the leaders. It trails Barcelona by 15 points with 10 rounds left.

Atlético has the same 46 points as fifth-place Getafe and is a point behind fourth-place Real Sociedad, which drew 1-1 with Osasuna at home on Sunday.

Athletic, which had won two in a row before the break, stayed in 10th place. AP

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)