BJP’s ‘poll debacle’ in Bengal raises question on its state leadership

Kolkata: The 2024 Lok Sabha elections results have apparently dealt a shock to the Sukanta Majumder and Suvendu Adhikari-led state BJP which managed to clinch only 12 seats in Bengal compared to its 2019 election results where it for the first time clinched 18 seats under the leadership of Dilip Ghosh.

Moreover, Nisith Pramanik, who held the portfolio of Union minister was trailing by over 35,000 votes and was headed towards a defeat at the time of filing the report.

An unease within the BJP’s state unit seems to have jumped out as the party failed to walk the talk where it had predicted it would cross 30 seats in Bengal. The exit polls too had made similar predictions where it said the saffron brigade would bag more than 20 seats while the TMC would struggle to reach 20. The BJP’s top leadership had relied heavily on Leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari. Sources said the results may now change the equation with the saffron brigade expected to make certain reshuffles within its state unit.

Further, political analysts believe this result is also likely to affect Adhikari’s political ambitions in the upcoming state elections in 2026. Adhikari seems to have come under the scanner of his party’s leadership, especially due to Agnimitra Paul and Dilip Ghosh trailing in seats Midnapore and Burdwan-Durgapur, respectively. These seats were considered the homeground of the Bengal BJP, especially Midnapore where TMC candidate June Maliah, at the time this report was filed, was leading with 28778 votes. She garnered 674159 votes compared to Agnimitra Paul who bagged 645381 votes.

In Burdwan-Durgapur, TMC had fielded the former cricketer Kirti Azad who, at the time this report was filed, was leading with 137460 votes. Azad garnered 717069 votes while BJP’s Dilip Ghosh garnered 579609 votes. It was under Ghosh that the BJP for the first time in 2019 elections had bagged 18 seats in Bengal. Ghosh, who contested from the Midnapore seat in 2019, had won with 89000 votes, approximately. It was speculated that Ghosh may switch parties but he stuck to the saffron brigade and clarified that he will work in any role that his party assigns him. This time, he was moved to an unknown turf (Burdwan-Durgapur constituency). BJP sources said the decision was of Suvendu Adhikari.

Ghosh was also replaced with Sukanta Majumder as the BJP’s state president while Suvendu consolidated his position in the party by defeating TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram seat in the 2021 assembly election.

Sukanta Majumder, however, was able to trump the TMC candidate from the Balurghat seat with an approximately 6652 vote lead.