With West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar getting a cabinet call-up in Narendra Modi 3.0, the state unit of the party will soon have a new chief, mirroring the search for a new national president after JP Nadda too joined the Union Cabinet. The big question in Bengal’s political circles now is who would succeed Majumdar.
Three names are said to be doing the rounds for the post of West Bengal BJP chief and the frontrunner among them is Dilip Ghosh, who previously held the post from 2015 to 2021. Ghosh, in fact, has been the most successful BJP state president till now. During his tenure, the BJP went from just two MPs from West Bengal to 18 in the 2019 general elections. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the party won 77 seats, four better than the previous election.
The 2024 Lok Sabha election, however, was not good hunting for Ghosh as his seat was changed from Medinipur to Bardhaman-Durgapur. The Bengal heavyweight was defeated by Kirti Azad, the cricketer-turned-candidate of the Trinamool Congress, by a margin of 1,37,981 votes.
Since his loss Ghosh has openly speculated that his seat was changed as part of a “conspiracy”, leading to his defeat. A section of the leaders opposed to Ghosh have questioned whether he would be the right fit to lead the party in West Bengal given his post-results statements.
After questioning the rationale behind relocating established leaders like him from winnable constituencies to challenging electoral battlegrounds, Ghosh on Saturday also put out a social media post, sparking speculation of ‘old versus new’ debate in the party’s West Bengal unit. In a cryptic message, Ghosh posted on X, “Old is Gold.”
Party sources say that while Dilip Ghosh is “undoubtedly” one of the best choices to be the West Bengal BJP chief, the question is whether the party would repeat him.
Another name doing the rounds for the position is Suvendhu Adhikary, the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. Adhikary is known to be a favourite of the party leadership in Delhi and his popularity rose when he defeated TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee from the Nanigram seat in the 2021 Assembly elections.
However, the party’s reduced tally in the state in the Lok Sabha elections – from 18 to 12 – has brought some criticism for Adhikary from a section of the party. Nevertheless, sources say his chances in the race to be West Bengal BJP chief are high.
The third name in the race may come as a surprise to Bengal politics observers — Manoj Tigga, who won the general elections from the Alipurduars seat. He is seen as the leader of the tea garden workers in North Bengal and carries mass appeal among tribal populations as well. As per insiders, Tigga is close to the RSS.
The BJP is known to spring surprises when it comes to crucial appointments. “It may be someone who no one expected at all,” a leader told News18. While the name of the next Bengal BJP president is shrouded in suspense, there is no doubt what their first assignment would be – preparing for 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Comments
0 comment