Internal discord hits BJP Cooch Behar as ex-leaders express dissent

Cooch Behar: The BJP camp in Cooch Behar district is in disarray following Nagen Roy’s (Anant Maharaj) opposition to the announcement of minister of state for Home Nisith Pramanik as the BJP’s candidate in Cooch Behar for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Several key veteran BJP leaders are expressing dissent, with the former district general secretary, Ajay Saha, openly voicing his opposition on social media.

In a post, Ajay Saha stated: “Now BJP will know whether the old, neglected, ignored, careless, negligent, deprived workers are worth it.”

It is evident from the post that he is discontented with the party leadership. Saha emphasised: “The old workers of the party are sitting without any contact from the party. This implies that the contributions of these longstanding workers are not

being recognised.”

However, Cooch Behar district BJP president Sukumar Roy attempted to downplay the issue, stating: “There is no problem within the party. Those who were initially excluded have been added to the invite list and any remaining concerns have been addressed by including them in other committees.”

During the 2021 Assembly elections, BJP’s district vice-president Sanjay Chakraborty, Pranab Pal, district secretary Ajay Saha, Raju Ray and many other leaders played pivotal roles in the party’s success. Despite their significant contributions, they find themselves distanced from the current party structure.