Samik Bhattacharya came, saw and conquered West Bengal "along with Suvendu Addhikari" and others :::: "Best teamwork comes from men who are working independently towards one goal"

Winning elections is always important for a political party. But good tuning is something highly essential between key players in the winning team. Under Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo; the ego hassle is strongly curbed and rebuked. Yet in West Bengal BJP; the intra-party conflicts were "deeper" for quite sometime. 

Apparently, this was defused before elections or  have been postponed for some other day.  

In this context, talking about good equations between Suvendu Adhikari, the chief minister, and Samik Bhattacharya, the state unit president, is vital.  

So far, so good. The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.

Opening batsman - a good striker of balls : CM Suvendu 

One section of Kolkata media has already called Samik - "Mr Catalyst". The bigger message is in the sub-title --  

How Samik Bhattacharya became the architect of BJP’s Bengal breakthrough

In political journalism, one has often used a phrase 'the king maker'. Samik may not be individually so much 'responsible' for crowning Suvendu; but he is definitely part of the bigger team where Amit Shah has been at the helm. Under two of Samik's predecessors - Dilip Ghosh and Sukanta Majumdar; ... 

the fractures within the 'party with a difference' remained and deepened.

"Main hoon Amit Shah" : So he had told Mamata in 2014 

How Samik plays his game ? He goes by the rulebook and at times; does that extra mile running !!

Party insiders say - he was always a team man and a disciplined soldier. He might have high ambitions but he was not a gatecrasher and waited for his chance to come and bloom. In July 2025 he was appointed party's West Bengal chief. I have been to north Bengal in June 2025 and even then the talk was on who would be next BJP president. 

Among the old timers in the party; the idea of giving the post to Dilip Ghosh and Suvendu Adhikari did not yield so much of excitement. After all, Suvendu was still seen as an 'outsider' and Dilip Ghosh - though a strong fighter; he lacked the calmness of a team man.  

BJP leader Raju Banerjee has summed it up well: “At a programme organised at Calcutta’s National Library on Vajpayeeji’s birth anniversary (Dec 25, 2025) Samikda reached out to the old guard and said, ‘We all belong to the same Parivar, so let’s do this together’.” He met disgruntled elements personally and invited all to work together. He had Amit Shah's -- both -- directions and blessings. 

All that helped a lot. 

Humble: The Captain who 'performs' 

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya was selected for all-party delegation on Operation Sindoor. In Berlin and in London, reportedly Samik Bhattacharya had made very impressive speeches on Operation Sindoor.   

"There was no Pakistan (prior to 1947) ever in this world... It was our fault. Hum log shanti ke path pe chaley ... Pakistan ban gaya (Pakistan was born because we choose the path of peace and non violence)," he said in London.  

During my north Bengal visit to Cooch Behar and Siliguri, I could gauge that people had strong preference for him as the state unit president. Another argument was - he was accessible to all.  

Now comes - post government formation. Well, some men and women 'titles' believing that they define power. Look at the craze for Nobel prize by Donald Trump. Some bluster bravely seeing their snaps in front pages of newspapers. Look at the craze how Mamata Banerjee is missing all that. 

But there are others who would pick up phone and dial a 'king' or the prime minister or the chief minister. He may command attention and dole out advice. That's also power. And Samik Bhattacharya as of now suits that cap. 

For old timers, veteran Marxist Harkishen Singh Surjeet did that for long.  

Lean back. We are not suggesting Samik is the new Surjeet. Such comparison will end his role and job. 

 

Blogger near Bangladesh border : 2025 

At the Calcutta Club The Telegraph National Debate earlier this year, Samik Bhattacharya speak for the motion — 'Status quo has been the unmaking of Bengal'. 

He took the podium and delivered a good old fashioned speech, an impassioned bhadralok’s argument. 

The impact of it and his political stature was not lost on the audience or the moderator. 

Over to Suvendu-Samik combo. Once upon a time in the context of Congress party, people called for 'husband-wife' bond between pradesh Congress chiefs and chief ministers. 

Well, in the new world; even marriages are short-lived.