By PTI
KOLKATA: A year after its drubbing in assembly polls, the West Bengal unit of the BJP is struggling to hold its flock together amid the slide in its vote share, as reflected in the series of electoral losses since then.
The state unit of the saffron camp, which has been experiencing churnings since the change of guard late last year, is still licking its wounds from the assembly poll defeat, with several leaders voicing concerns or raising complaints over the state leadership’s style of functioning.
As efforts made by the top brass to unite the state BJP unit seemed to have hit the wall, all eyes are now on the likely visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who during his tenure as the party’s national president was instrumental in creating its inroads into Bengal.
“Whatever has been happening is unfortunate. It has led to an uncomfortable situation for all of us. The party leadership is looking into it, trying to resolve all problems,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya told PTI.
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The party, which had been grappling with reverse exodus since the assembly poll debacle with top leaders and legislators, including Babul Supriyo and Mukul Roy, switching over to the TMC, is now plagued by internal rebellion even as state unit chief Sukanta Majumdar urged members to approach him with grievances instead of speaking to mediapersons.
BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra, who had recently called for introspection within the party, told PTI, “There are complaints against those in charge of the state’s organisation. The leadership here is not functioning democratically and trying to sideline experienced leaders. The new state president, too, is unable to handle the situation.”
In a similar vein, a BJP state general secretary, who did not wish to be named, said, “If you don’t find out and acknowledge the disease, how will you treat it? To pretend everything is all right when it is not is like living in fool’s paradise.”
The slide in vote share that began with Bhabanipur bypolls — from 35 per cent in May 2021 to 22 per cent in October last year — has continued unabated since then.
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In Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls, held last December, the party managed to get 20 per cent vote share — down from 29 per cent that it had bagged in the civic body-administered areas during assembly elections.
Two months later, during elections to 108 other civic bodies, the BJP managed to garner just 12.57 per cent of votes and failed to clinch any municipality.
In last year’s assembly polls, the party had pocketed nearly 36 per cent votes in these areas.
The recent by-polls to the Asansol Lok Sabha seat, which was snatched away by the TMC, and the Ballygunge assembly seat, where the Left Front emerged as the first runner-up, only added to the BJP’s downswing in Bengal.
According to saffron camp sources, the internal rebellion that had brewing since the state poll fiasco only grew stronger after leaders such as Ritesh Tiwari, Jay Prakash Majumdar and Sayantan Basu were dropped from the new office bearers’ panel.
Although the party initially cracked the whip by suspending Majumdar, who was quick to switch over to the TMC, and Tiwari, it failed to stem the rebellion.
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State BJP sources pointed out that the lack of a dedicated central observer has also augmented the crisis, with BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, who has been in charge of Bengal since 2015, seen nowhere since the assembly poll defeat.
“Kaliashji doesn’t show any interest in party affairs of Bengal. The state leaders do not know who they should approach for problems,” another state BJP leader said.
BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh, whose tenure as the state unit chief is considered the most successful one, too, has taken a dig at his successor Sukanta Majumdar “over his inexperience” in managing the party affairs.
Majumdar has declined to comment on the criticism he is facing.
State vice-president of the saffron party, Rathin Chakraborty, however, said there are just some “trivial issues” within the camp which will be sorted out soon.
“Whenever a party grows, these issues come with it. All matters would be resolved very soon. The state BJP is a united family,” he told PTI.
Political analyst Suman Bhattacharya feels that the BJP won’t be able to arrest its slide as it has “lost the plot”.
“BJP’s growth was inorganic. As it has failed in the assembly polls, the slide that started will continue. Till the time the party can boast of strong homegrown leaders, the situation will not improve,” he said.
Echoing him, political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty stated that lack of mass movements is loosening the glue within the party.
“Any political party grows through mass movements. The BJP grew by inducting leaders from other parties. Unless they organise mass movements at the state and local level, there won’t be any change in the situation,” he added.