Rift in Bengal BJP widens over old and new party chiefs

Amid the internal squabbles and dissent in the Bengal BJP, there seems to be a clear divide between the former state party president and the new one. A section of the BJP leadership blamed the "inexperience" of the current BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar for the party's failure in handling the unrest within the party.

"State president Sukanta Majumdar has been newly inducted and has less experience. Some experienced hands, with grassroots experience, should be given charge to control the trouble and dissent. The eligible ones should get an opportunity to work," BJP national president (former state BJP chief) Dilip Ghosh said.

Meanwhile, dissenting BJP leaders protested in front of the party's headquarters in Kolkata on Thursday raising slogans 'Save BJP', demanding the removal of BJP state secretary (organisation) Amitabha Chakraborty.


"Dilip Ghosh should not have been removed as state president. He had experience of building the organisational network from scratch," a district-level leader told ET.

Dilip Ghosh and former state secretary (organisation) Subrata Chattopadhyay were known to be a successful duo, making the impossible become a reality with BJP winning 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, senior party leaders told ET. However, Subrata Chattopadhyay was replaced by Amitabha Chakraborty. Dilip Ghosh was removed as state BJP president on September 20 last year and replaced by Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumdar. Majumdar, a greenhorn to politics, comes from an RSS background and is a first-time MP. Dilip Ghosh was made the party's national vice-president.

Anupam Hazra, MP, has also voiced his discontent about the BJP state leadership and expressed the need that old BJP workers be given an opportunity to work.

Former Hooghly mondal president Sukanta Burman said that "able people are not being utilised by the leadership while new and inefficient persons are given charge of the organisation. Similar voices have been raised in various parts of the districts.