Kolkata: At a time when the state BJP is already on the back foot in Matua-dominated areas after the rollout of the SIR—an exercise that has stirred deep anxiety within the community over citizenship and voting rights—the saffron party now finds itself engulfed in yet another bout of internal turmoil.
With the crucial Bengal elections due next year, the BJP high command appears uneasy over simmering differences and, apparently, a fresh power struggle within the party’s Bengal unit.
Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, addressing a public gathering on Thursday, reminded Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari that he had been assimilated into the BJP and should not dwell on the past. Speaking at an event organised to “activate” veteran party leaders who have grown inactive, Adhikari had noted that some had joined the BJP after being expelled from other parties, while others had done so voluntarily after quitting their previous political outfits. “I belong to the latter group. I left five ministries and the chairmanship of three cooperative banks to join the BJP,” Adhikari had said. Soon after Adhikari’s speech, the BJP State president said: “I will appeal to Adhikari, not say this again in any future meeting. Because you have now become integrated with the BJP.”
Bhattacharya’s remark drew loud applause from BJP leaders at the venue. Since taking charge as state president, he has sought to bridge the divide between the party’s old guard and newer entrants. Ahead of the visit of Union Home minister Amit Shah later this month, the state BJP unit held a “reunion” of its old and sidelined leaders in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, the absence of former state BJP president Dilip Ghosh became the most discussed aspect of the event.
Ghosh, once a key figure in the state BJP, was invited through a call-centre phone call, with no party leader personally reaching out to him.
The BJP high command appears wary of the state unit, appointing central observers to grasp Bengal’s political dynamics. BJP MP and former Calcutta High Court judge Avijit Ganguly has also criticised the party’s reliance on out-of-state leaders. Within the state BJP, there are fears that the SIR could backfire, especially among the two-crore Matua community, which may sway results in around 70 Assembly seats.