Outrage within BJP after Ainul Haque joins party
Kolkata: Hundreds of BJP workers on Saturday staged protest demonstrations over the joining of controversial CPI(M) leader Ainul Haque in the BJP. Ainul had been expelled from the CPI(M) in 2017 after which he tried very hard to join the TMC but was refused entry.
Ainul had contested against Rabiranjan Chatterjee from Burdwan South during the last Assembly elections and lost by at least 30,000 votes. Meanwhile, the BJP workers and activists in Burdwan have become furious after their party has inducted the controversial former CPI(M) leader into its fold. It has not gone down well as one of the so-called 'Harmads' has now joined the BJP. A section of the BJP leadership from Burdwan East district are sceptical over the performance of the party as many of its workers have threatened to cast their votes in favour of 'NOTA' if Ainul gets nomination. In some places, posters of rejected ticket aspirants have been put up outside the party's offices.
Infighting which once again resurfaced within the BJP may emerge as a major threat to its leaders in the state when the first phase of Lok Sabha elections will begin in less than a month's time. Soon after the incident happened, the state BJP president Dilip Ghosh has come up with a stern message. However, his message does not appear to have reached the ground-level workers. The senior leaders in the state have already started damage-control mechanism and to also address the conflict that has come into the fore over the announcement of candidates in some parts of the state.
In another development, a section of BJP supporters and activists on Saturday took out a number of protest rallies at various parts under Mathurapur Parliament constituency vehemently opposing the candidature of Shyamaprasad Halder who has been fielded as a BJP candidate. Some of the local leaders within the party have threatened to field an Independent candidate who would eventually contest from the same constituency. This comes as a major embarrassment for not only the state BJP leaders but also the central leadership that had accorded Haldar with the responsibility. Biplab Naik, a local BJP leader, who was among the members who spearheaded the protest rally said it was just a "trailer" and they would organise another rally with more than 1,000 participants. There is no democracy in the BJP and the new people are being given precedence over the old ones who had so long been associated with the party, Naik alleged. It may be mentioned here that the rallies were conducted in Mandirbazar, Namkhana and some other areas falling under the jurisdiction of Mathurapur Lok Sabha constituency.
