"We have four pillars — Dilip Ghosh, Sukanta Majumdar, Samik Bhattacharya, and Suvendu Adhikari. All of us, including the grassroots workers, must fight this battle together to make it successful" - says BJP leader Agnimitra Paul.
Her remarks came within days BJP's chief poll strategist Amit Shah during his year-end West Bengal trip ensured that 'sidelined' former state unit chief Dilip Ghosh comes back to the party's Karo-Ya-Moro (Do or Die) battle in the Mamata Banerjee-ruled West Bengal.
(Electoral compulsions make Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, a rank Islamist apologist, to wear her Hindu faith on her sleeve. Taking a leaf out of Left Front’s book, Mamata allowed ‘Islamisation project’ to take root for political gains. Her disdain for ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is well-known. Now, with ‘faith acrobatics’ and proclaiming her Brahmin origins, she is talking about temples of Hindu deities; -- and hopes to woo Hindus.)
West Bengal offers multiple challenges for the Lotus party to capture power. But there have been several hurdles too. Disunity was one. Post 2021 polls and especially after 2024 Lok Sabha polls - as the saffron outfit tally from the state nosedived from 18 (2019) to 10 .... the blame game became the order of the day.
Now Amit Shah has ensured “bridging the gap" between the old and the new state party leadership. This was crucial.
Dilip Ghosh is rated as the "best and the most successful" BJP state president in Bengal for six years. He took on Mamata Banerjee head on. His oneliners and tit-for-that response gave the much required confidence to BJP karyakartas.
Post Shah-meeting; actress-turned-leader Rupa Ganguly remarked, “Amit Shah ji has motivated us all… all of us will work hard to get 2/3rd majority”.
A longtime BJP watcher and also a party leader Swapan Dasgupta now says - "The year 2026 offers Best opportunity for BJP as TMC is in a vulnerable situation”.
Even best friends of Mamata Banerjee can deny this.
Mamata has been a populist leader. But last few years - things have boomeranged on her. She made unwarranted remarks about women/young girls moving around in night and her remark was seen as justifying the growing incidents of crime against women.
Rape and murder of a medico in 2024 made her immensely unpopular. And the latest episode that boomeranged on her was during football icon Messi's visit.
In short - she has lost control. But demography in many seats (perhaps around 150 of them) still favour her and this is BJP's single biggest challenge in drawing out electoral strategy.
Amit Shah's strategy to bring back Dilip Ghosh in the Team for battle of 2026 was a significant move.
It has certain key political implications.
First - The Modi-Amit Shah duo realises that putting all eggs in one basket called Suvendu Adhikari is not enough. Hence, in all probability the party will not declare a chief ministerial face.
- However, Suvendu (a former Mamata lieutenant) may yet again contest from Nandigram - the assembly seat where he had humbled Mamata Banerjee in 2021.
Secondly; the party will make use of Dilip Ghosh’s popularity in regions like Medinipur.
Thirdly ---
The BJP is realising that the excitement as was in 2021 is still 'missing' in the saffron camp. Even enthusiasm among mass supporters to 'get actively involved' in the BJP matters is less. The massive SIR programme too has failed to evoke that kind of excitement. This reflects organisational slackness and people's indifference. This also means - a key election in a state like West Bengal with substantial Muslim presence cannot be won without EMOTIVE element.
Unlike Suvendu Adhikari and even Samik Bhattacharya (present BJP state unit president); Shah believes - Dilip Ghosh had a better ability to enthuse interests among support base and also Karyakartas.
Bhattacharya himself says now -"Dilip Ghosh is the flesh and blood of the party and he cannot be sitting idle".
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Displaying yet another departure from BJP's known politics of Temple and hardline Hindutva issues - as was done with all the machinations successfully in several states - the saffron party leaders are now more talking about mundane issues - jobs, women safety, law and order chaos, development and industrialisation.
In Asansol; Ajay Chatterjee, a school teacher says, "We do not believe Mamata Banerjee and hence we cannot believe her police too. They look the other way when Muslims and Trinamool supporters are wrongdoers. Even Traffic police have been partial leaving out people driving without helmets if they wore a particular type of skull caps”.
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