KOLKATA: In a desperate bid to control the infighting between old BJP workers and the turncoats, the central BJP leadership is likely to give equal status to both Dilip Ghosh, state president, and Suvendu Adhikari, leader of opposition, party insiders said.
A crucial meeting of the state unit will be held on June 29 to discuss the poll debacle of the party in the recently-concluded Assembly election, among other matters.
JP Nadda, national president of the party, is likely to be present at the meeting along with several national leaders.
Party insiders said the central leadership was likely to give equal status to Ghosh and Adhikari at the meeting to resolve infighting issues.
The infighting between the old guards and the turncoats intensified after the announcement of the Assembly election results on May 2. Except Adhikari, most of the turncoats had lost the election. The old party members alleged that they had been neglected and the party had given more importance to the turn coats, which led to the poll disaster.
An article in the Organizer, the mouthpiece of RSS, added fuel to the fire when it held the turncoats responsible for the poll disaster and maintained that the leaders should
have been careful in selecting the candidates. It alleged that the turncoats were inducted without proper assessment of their credentials and capabilities.
Political experts said this arrangement would further hit the organisation of BJP as it would be interpreted as if the central leadership was giving a whip to the party to obey Adhikari.
Under Dilip Ghosh's leadership, the party's strength increased bit-by-bit, the experts opined. In the Assembly, the strength increased from 3 to 77. In Lok Sabha, the party bagged 18 seats in 2019.
Sources said Adhikari's arrogance was not liked by most of the leaders. "They also do not like his hobnobbing with the central leaders and seeking their intervention even to settle local party issues," sources revealed.