BALURGHAT: In a significant political development ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections, Swaroop Chowdhury resigned from the post of South Dinajpur district president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday morning.
Chowdhury announced his resignation during a press conference convened at the party’s district office in Balurghat. After informing the media about his decision, he submitted his resignation letter at the district office and left the premises. However, he refrained from elaborating on the specific reasons behind his resignation while speaking on camera.
According to party sources and other political observers, the decision may be linked to the possibility that Chowdhury might not be nominated as a candidate in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Sources indicate that he had been aspiring to contest from one of the six Assembly constituencies in South Dinajpur district but reportedly came to know that the party might not field him in the polls.
Speaking to journalists, Chowdhury said: “I have been associated with the party since 2013, when I was given responsibility in the Yuva Morcha. Later, I became the district secretary of the party. After that, I served as the district president twice.
I felt that under the changed circumstances it would not be appropriate for me to continue in this post and therefore I voluntarily stepped down from the responsibility.”
He further added that the BJP had progressed through many challenges in South Dinajpur and expressed hope that the party would continue to perform well in the future. When asked whether the resignation was prompted by any grievance or dissatisfaction, Chowdhury denied the claim, stating that there was no personal resentment and that he had resigned voluntarily.
He also clarified that no message or directive regarding his resignation had come from the state leadership.
Notably, on Thursday night, Chowdhury had posted a cryptic message on social media stating: “Everyone is good. Only I am bad,” which had already triggered speculation about his possible resignation.
His sudden decision to step down ahead of the Assembly elections has reportedly put the district unit of the BJP in an uncomfortable position.
Reacting to the development, Subhas Bhawal, president of the South Dinajpur district unit of the All India Trinamool Congress, said the resignation reflects internal dissatisfaction within the BJP and added that the ruling party remains confident about its position in the district ahead of the upcoming elections.