Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to arrive in West Bengal on Wednesday (May 4) for a three-day visit. The trip is his first to the state after the 2021 assembly polls, when he had played a high-profile role in the BJP's unsuccessful campaign to unseat Mamata Banerjee and the TMC.
Last week, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh poked fun at Shah's visit, referring to dissension in the BJP state unit. “This will be Amit Shah Ji’s first visit to the state after BJP’s dreams of capturing 200 plus seats in the 2021 assembly poll were shattered. But he has an uphill task at hand as he will be meeting a faction-ridden saffron camp in which the state party president Sukanta Majumdar is against his predecessor, Dilip Ghosh. The state unit is not on the same page with its own legislative party,” Kunal Ghosh said.
Though it won 77 seats in the 2021 assembly polls, seven MLAs subsequently left the BJP and the saffron party is facing the prospect of a Left resurgence in parts of West Bengal.
The Indian Express reported the West Bengal BJP unit had been unhappy with perceived lack of support from the central party leadership since the assembly elections.
“As the party has already begun its preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the central leadership cannot ignore West Bengal, a state that sent 18 MPs to the Lok Sabha. His [Shah's] visit has been long overdue. The state unit desperately needs a morale boost and Shah is expected to infuse some confidence into the cadre,” a BJP leader was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
The Indian Express reported the West Bengal BJP unit harboured “deep frustration” with the central leadership for lack of support against the TMC's strong-arm tactics.
“At least three party functionaries said the central leadership did not 'pay much attention' to the West Bengal unit 'after the unexpected defeat the party faced' and 'the exodus of leaders who had joined the party, post-Assembly elections,'” The Indian Express reported.
A leader complained the party was conducting leadership “experiments” in West Bengal. “For the BJP, the Bengal unit has become a prayogshala (laboratory). First, Dilip Ghosh, a hardliner and an ideological man, was tried. Then, they appointed a professor (current state BJP president Dr Sukanta Majumdar). The experiments are continuing. The main issue for the party is we still have not found a promising leader. We cannot forget that this is happening in a state where our main rival has a well-established leader,” this leader told The Indian Express.
CAA dilemma
The support of the Matua community was crucial for the BJP's performance in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2021 assembly polls. However, the community is said to be unhappy with the BJP for the delay in implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Union Minister Shantanu Thakur, a member of the Matua community, has been demanding progress on the issue.
The Telegraph reported BJP MLAs in West Bengal would “seek a clear answer” from Shah on the timeline for implementation of CAA. It reported “a group of MLAs, representing the Matua and the refugee communities, had decided to hand over to him a letter urging him to expedite the process of framing rules for the CAA without delay”. The Telegraph reported “Haringhata MLA Asim Sarkar spoke to (leader of opposition) Suvendu Adhikari about this issue on Saturday evening. Both have decided that Sarkar will bring the issue up in front of Shah and others, including Adhikari, would then join the chorus.”
Sarkar has been a vocal proponent for implementation of the CAA and warned the party risked heavy losses if the legislation was not implemented. He told The Telegraph on May 1 “If the CAA isn’t implemented in Bengal, the BJP’s (MP) tally will come down to five in 2024 Lok Sabha polls from 18 in 2019”. Sarkar claimed he and other MLAs—Ashok Kirtania of Bongaon North, Ambika Roy of Kalyani and Swapan Majumdar of Bongaon South—would raise the CAA issue.
Shah itinerary
Shah is expected to arrive in Kolkata on the evening of May 4 and go to North 24 Parganas district for a BSF event on May 5.
“Then he will go to Siliguri in north Bengal’s Darjeeling district and address a public rally at the Railway Institute Ground. Later, he is likely to hold a meeting with representatives of different political and non-political organisations in Darjeeling on May 5. The next day, he will go to the Cooch Behar district and attend a government programme at Tinbigha. He will return to Kolkata on May 6 afternoon and is expected to hold meetings with top BJP leaders of the state,” The Indian Express reported.
