News Analysis India

Tag: Bengal BJP

  • Bengal BJP renames ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ as ‘Shahid Samman Yatra’

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: The West Bengal chapter of BJP has decided to change the title of the party’s nationwide event from “Jan Ashirwad Yatra” to “Shahid Samman Yatra”.

    The change was made with the nod of the party’s national leadership. The party functionaries in Bengal made it clear that the concept of organising a yatra to seek the blessings of people, which will have no direct political message, might work in other north Indian states but not in Bengal. The Bengal leaders said such an extravaganza ahead of the recent Assembly elections under the banner of Rath Yatra with a motorcade of decorated vehicles covering all Assembly constituencies had no impact on the party’s electoral performance.

    “Considering the character of Bengal’s electorates, such events should have a political message. A procession only to seek the blessing of people for newly inducted ministers will not secure any political dividend. This is why we renamed the event as a procession in the memory of our martyrs which will deliver a message to anti-Trinamool Congress voters on the issue of violence unleashed by the ruling party,” said a BJP leader.

    ALSO READ | Bengal Assembly Speaker can file affidavit in PIL seeking Mukul Roy’s removal as PAC head: Calcutta HC

    After Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his council of ministers last month focusing inclusion of more women and representatives from backward communities, the BJP has announced that the new ministers will undertake the event under the banner of Ashirwad Yatra to reach out to people. It has been decided that ministers of state will be on the yatra during August 16-18 while cabinet ministers will do the same during August 19-21. The party asked every new minister to cover three Lok Sabha constituencies and four districts in the states they hail from.

    From Bengal, four BJP MPs were inducted into Modi’s cabinet as ministers of state.

    “Our high command told us to organise the Ashirwad Yatra but we objected. We told them that such events do not influence Bengal’s electorates. It is hard to believe that people will queue up along the roads when we take out the procession seeking their blessings to the newly-inducted ministers. We took out the Rath Yatra spending crores by decorating vehicles with all modern equipment and it travelled hundreds of kilometres ahead of the Bengal polls covering the Assembly constituencies in both north and south Bengal. In the northern part of the state, we managed to retain our strength but we faced a massive jolt in the southern part. It was clear that such extravaganza had no reflection in the results of the Assembly elections,” said a BJP leader in Kolkata.

  • If attacks on TMC men in Tripura do not stop, Bengal BJP members to face consequences: Ex-MLA Udayan Guha

    TMC leader Udayan Guha kicked up a fresh storm as he said that saffron camp members may not be able to reside peacefully in the locality.

  • Bengal post-poll violence: BJP to provide financial aid to women victims

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: The BJP’s women wing in Bengal has initiated a move to give financial aid to the women victims of post-poll violence. 

    The Mohila Morcha of the party is offering financial support ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000 which is said to be a politically calculated decision to send a message to the women voters, who form around 49% of the total electorates.

    The BJP is armed with the report submitted by the committee of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that said many women and minor girls were sexually assaulted in the violence allegedly unleashed by the ruling party. The saffron party is now making a bid to make an impression that it is an outfit that cares for women.

    ALSO READ | Bengal post-poll violence: CBI probe into serious crimes sought in HC

    Agnimitra Paul, the president of BJP’s women wing in West Bengal, alleged the TMC workers are threatening the victims to withdraw their complaints. “We are with those who faced the terror of violence. Many of their families are yet to return home and start their regular activities to earn a basic livelihood. We are providing them all support including giving financial aid,” she said.

    BJP’s Bengal election results analysis revealed that Mamata managed to get the support of women electorates en bloc which was reflected in her party’s stupendous performance. “The health insurance scheme for all ahead of the Assembly elections, a brainchild of Mamata, proved to be a masterstroke. The insurance card was issued in the name of a woman head of a family. The unique decision delivered a message among the women electorates using Mamata’s image,” said a senior BJP leader.

    The leader said that retaining the women voters in the party’s fold by offering them financial help is the prime object. “Besides, this venture is also aimed at building up the party’s image caring women’s issues. The women wing has been asked to stand beside the women on different issues aiming at long-term dividends. Our goal is not only retaining our women vote bank but also taking those, who voted for the TMC, into confidence,” the leader added.

  • TMC mocks Babul Supriyo’s U-turn; Bengal BJP maintains silence

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: With BJP leader Babul Supriyo making a U-turn on his decision to quit as an MP, the Trinamool Congress mocked him for allegedly enacting a “well-scripted drama” to score brownie points in the saffron party after he was dropped from the union cabinet in the last reshuffle.

    The BJP’s West Bengal leadership, however, maintained a stoic silence on the development.

    The singer-turned-politician had announced in a social media post on Saturday that he would quit as an MP and active politics.

    However, after meeting BJP president J P Nadda in Delhi on Monday, the Asansol MP said he will continue to discharge his constitutional responsibilities as a parliamentarian but withdraw from politics and leave his official residence in the national capital.

    His decision will be a big relief to the BJP as it would not have liked to be forced to contest a by-poll against the TMC, which is upbeat after handing a comprehensive defeat to the saffron party in the assembly election held earlier this year.

    TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said that Supriyo has been enacting a drama from the very beginning as he was dropped from the ministry.

    ALSO READ | Will remain MP but quit politics: Babul Supriyo after meeting BJP chief JP Nadda

    “If he was so keen on resigning, he should have sent his resignation letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker. Instead, he was indulging in tricks. We knew he would make a U-turn sooner than later,” Ghosh said.

    When contacted, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, with whom Supriyo shares a strained relationship, declined to comment.

    “Babul Supriyo is an MP and he has met the party president. So, it is for the central leadership to comment on it, not the state leadership,” state BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said.

    Both Supriyo and Debasree Chaudhuri, MPs from Bengal, were dropped as ministers in the July cabinet reshuffle.

    Four other MPs from West Bengal, Nishith Pramanik, Santanu Thakur, Subhas Sarkar and John Barla – were inducted as MOS in different ministries.

    Upset at being dropped from the Union Council of Ministers, Supriyo, a two-term MP, on Saturday announced that he would resign as MP and quit politics.

    On Monday, he told reporters that Home Minister Amit Shah and Nadda had spoken to him, and he has taken a final decision after thinking over their suggestions.

  • Bengal BJP youth wing leader dies of cardiac arrest after attending party meet

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: A youth wing leader of the BJP in West Bengal died due to a cardiac arrest on Monday night after attending a meeting of the party here, BJYM sources said.

    The sources said Raju Sarkar, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) state vice president, had complained of uneasiness after attending the meeting at the party’s Hastings office, following which he was rushed to the state-run SSKM Hospital.

    He was given medicines at the SSKM and was taken to a private super speciality hospital where he was declared brought dead, they said.

    The death of the youth wing leader led to a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

    BJP spokesman Shamik Bhattacharya said Sarkar suddenly fell sick after the morcha meeting got over and he was taken to SSKM hospital but “due to no ITU facility at the state-run hospital, he had to be taken to a private hospital” a few kilometres away, where he was declared dead.

    TMC spokesman and party state general secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed he has information that Sarkar was subjected to mental harassment by a section of youth wing leaders.

    “Raju was a jovial and simple person. He had stepped down along with Saumitra Khan from Morcha earlier in July but taken back his resignation later on. He had many grievances against the party that I know,” Ghosh said.

    Bhattacharya ruled out any possibility of foul play in the death and said Sarkar did not feel stressed due to any alteration during a morcha meeting and looked perfectly normal having even exchanged pleasantries with some journalists present there.

  • 8 Bengal BJP MLAs quit as heads of House panels over Mukul Roy’s appointment as PAC chairman

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: The face-off between the ruling TMC and BJP continued after eight MLAs from the opposition party resigned on Tuesday from the post of chairman of eight committees of the West Bengal Assembly over the issue of Mukul Roy’s appointment as the chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by the Speaker. 

    Among the eight, six were chairmen of standing committees.

    On July 9, Roy, who recently quit the BJP and rejoin the TMC, was appointed as the PAC chairman, and soon after, there was uproar in the Assembly as BJP lawmakers staged a demonstration and walked out alleging that conventionally, the post is meant for the opposition party MLAs.    

    Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari accused the TMC of violating the norms by announcing Roy’s name as PAC chairman. The BJP wanted party MLA from Balurghat, Ashok Lahiri, former chief economic advisor to the Centre, to be the PAC chairman.

    The BJP MLAs also met governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday afternoon and handed him over a memorandum protesting Roy’s appointment.

  • Nadda summons Dilip Ghosh to Delhi, rejig in BJP’s Bengal chapter likely

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: BJP’s national president JP Nadda on Saturday summoned the party’s chief in Bengal Dilip Ghosh to Delhi amid murmurs that the saffron camp is likely to rejig its state unit.

    The call from Shah came after the state president of the party’s youth wing Saumitra Khan’ castigated the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and Ghosh in a Facebook live session.

    Sources in the BJP said the issue of discontent expressed by many party functionaries after the party’s national vice-president Mukul Roy joined the Trinamool Congress is also likely to be discussed in the meeting.

    “Many TMC turncoats, who joined the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections, expressed their discontent against the BJP in public after the party’s unimpressive performance in the Assembly elections. We fielded many turncoats in the Assembly elections and most of them failed to secure victory. Now the turncoats’ discontent and their willingness to return to the BJP is embarrassing our high command. Above all, the recent act of Khan, who also defected from the TMC, triggered embarrassment for both the state and national leaders,’’ said a BJP leader.

    The leader said that Nadda might rejig the party’s state hierarchy facing intra-party discontent.

    Referring to turncoats’ statements embarrassing the party, Ghosh on Saturday described them as the bark of other trees. “The party had pasted bark of other trees on itself which is now coming off. Those who joined the BJP recently are finding it difficult to fit in. Some of them are leaving. But old party workers have no such problem. We accepted a large number of people who came from other parties and gave them a chance to work. Now it is up to them to decide what they want to do,’’ he said.  

    Three days ago, Khan stepped down from the post of the party’s state youth wing president and later withdrew his resignation. In the Facebook live session, Khan accused Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of misleading the party’s national leadership by visiting Delhi frequently and alleged that Ghosh doesn’t understand half of the things. He also made a photo showing Ghosh shaking hands with TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh a display image of one of his WhatsApp accounts.

    “It seems Khan may face the consequences for his acts. Besides, changes are likely to be made in the party’s different wings after Ghosh’s return from Delhi,” said another BJP leader.

  • Discontent in Bengal BJP? Saumitra Khan quits as state chief of party’s youth wing

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Sharp discontent in the BJP’s Bengal chapter surfaced as BJP MP Saumitra Khan Wednesday quit as the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

    Soon after the move, Khan accused party MLA and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of misleading the saffron camp’s high command. He also alleged that Adhikari had brought 128 TMC leaders under the umbrella of the BJP who were not acceptable among the common people for their unclean image.

    Former TMC minister-turned-BJP candidate in the Assembly elections Rajib Banerjee too lashed out at Adhikari saying the Leader of Opposition should be more focused on the hike in petrol and diesel prices than attacking CM Mamata Banerjee.

    “The way the BJP is functioning in Bengal, it will not be good for the future. Everything is happening here according to what a leader is saying. He is visiting Delhi again and again and misleading the party’s central leadership. It is as if he sacrificed a lot for the party. There are many in the party who, too, sacrificed a lot. The state president (Dilip Ghosh) understands only half of the words,” Khan, without dropping Adhikari’s name, said shortly after announcing her decision to step down from the portfolio on a social medial platform.

    Adhikari made several trips to Delhi in the recent past and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP high-command, including national president JP Nadda and Union Home minister Amit Shah.

    Castigating the saffron camp’s decision to induct TMCs turncoats ahead of the Assembly elections, Khan said, “After a TMC leader joined the BJP, 128 others followed her. The thieves in a group came a month before the election. I am disappointed with the way the rights are being exercised.”

    The haughty parliamentarian did not forget to claim to be “clean”. “I have not even taken hundred rupees from the party or anyone. I have not joined the party with any self-interest. I live in a one-storey house. I will fight as an ordinary BJP worker for the rest of my life,” he said.

    Reacting to Khan’s allegation, Adhikari said, “He (Khan) is my colleague in the party. I will not comment on it. I would like you not to take the issue seriously.”

  • After TMC, Bengal BJP may move court seeking recounting in narrowly lost seats

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The BJP is weighing the option of moving the court praying for recounting in assembly seats where the party had conceded defeat by narrow margins in the recent election in West Bengal, state party president Dilip Ghosh said on Saturday.

    “We are discussing the issue with our lawyers,” Ghosh told reporters in Murshidabad.

    Ghosh’s statement came after the Trinamool Congress filed petitions in the Calcutta High Court urging recounting in five assembly constituencies, including Nandigram, where the party lost by slender margins.

    In the Nandigram seat in Purba Medinipur district, party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost to her protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP by 1956 votes.

    Apart from Nandigram, TMC candidates of Moyna, Bongaon Dakshin, Goghat and Balarampur assembly constituencies filed election petitions in the high court seeking recounting.Wesr 

  • Internal discontent in Bengal BJP? ‘Go Back’ posters against Vijayvargiya surface in Kolkata

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: BJP’s internal “discontent” became prominent in public on Friday after posters reading ‘GO BACK’ mocking Kailash Vijayvargiya as the “TMC setting master” were found in front of the party’s state headquarters in the city and the party election office in Hastings. 

    Similar posters were also seen beside the roads leading to Kolkata airport as the saffron camp’s national general secretary is scheduled to visit the state capital in a few days.

    The displeasure among the party functionaries started emerging after its national vice-president Mukul Roy returned to the ruling Trinamool Congress last week. A section of BJP’s Bengal functionaries expressed their discontent over Vijayvargiya’s “active” role to induct Roy in the BJP in 2017 and his effort to elevate the TMC’s former second-in-command in the party hierarchy. 

    “Roy used to be known for his close proximity to Vijayvargiya. The leader from Madhya Pradesh is now facing the wrath of our party functionaries because Roy’s breach of trust. Even a section of leaders is now expressing their doubt about Roy’s loyalty to BJP when he was in the party. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee praise for him (Roy) while addressing election rally is now strengthening the doubt. Many think Roy was in touch with TMC high-command even after he was elevated to the post of the party’s national vice president,” said a BJP leader.

    While addressing a rally in Nandigram before the Assembly elections, Mamata has said Mukul was far better than Suvendu Adhikari — the former TMC leader who joined BJP and defeated her in the East Midnapore constituency. 

    Roy’s departure also triggered the fear of disintegration in the BJP as many functionaries and workers had followed his footprint in 2017 and shifted their political allegiance to the saffron camp from the ruling TMC. “Most of the grassroots leaders now want to return to their old party. It was Vijayvargiya who had convinced the party’s high command to welcome all of Roy’s followers who were inducted since 2017,” said another BJP leader.

    BJP’s state president Dilip Ghosh too did not hide his evaluation about Roy after the most talked-about defection since the Assembly elections. “TMC performed impressively without him (Roy) in the Assembly elections. We failed to perform well despite having him at the party. So, his defection will not cause any damage to us,” he said.