By Tirthankar Mitra
KOLKATA: All is not well in the West Bengal unit of BJP even as the chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has claimed his party will secure the support of 270 odd legislators out of the total of 294 in the event of a floor test in the state Assembly. While the chief minister’s party has 209 MLAs, his words are a pointer that he will get the support of dissident Trinamool Congress legislators.
One wonders whether chief minister Adhikari will pay back some of the “faithful dissidents” with electoral nomination to those of their choice. The possibility is not ruled by some of his party leaders.
Intra-party discontent in state BJP is on the rise. Many of the old hands in the saffron camp are apprehensive that the activists of their choice may be denied nomination in the coming civic elections.
Given the precedence of several Trinamool Congress MPs in Rajya Sabha being inducted in the BJP and retaining their .membership of the Upper House, the BJP veterans fear of being passed over cannot be dismissed as baseless. Resentment was voiced and assurances of not repeating the Rajya Sabha pass over calmed tempers.
Drop boxes have replaced individuals as depository of application for civic poll nomination in the saffron camp. And the state party is apprehensive over the selection of candidates
State BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya and state industries minister Tapas Roy support going it alone in both the civic elections. The reasons behind their objection range from political to personal.
Bhattacharya and Roy have learnt the ropes of party organisation and electoral politics over decades. If Bhattacharya’s learning was received at RSS shakhas and Chintan shibirs of the saffron camp, Roy picked up the skills of cutting down rivals in Congress to which he originally belonged and later at the TMC camp through a series of hard knocks which landed him on the ropes and from which he bounced back into reckoning
Yet the lessons the duo received was the same. Both are only too aware that in an electoral battle, a weak ally read the NCPI will only ride piggyback on a stronger partner of the coalition -BJP. And post an overwhelming victory in the Assembly election, the BJP is not in need of an ally like NCPI which has no organisational network worth speaking of in the state.
The personal factor comes next and Bhattacharya has no place in it. Roy aspired to replace Bandopadhayay as the TMC MP from Kolkata ( north). When he failed, he left TMC and lost after contesting as a BJP nominee against Bandopadhayay in the 2021 Lok Sabha elections.
The electoral reverse still rankles. The last thing Roy seeks is to let NCPI, full of his political opponents gain a toehold in state politics which it will attain if it gets a few seats with the blessings of the Chief Minister.
On the other hand, NCPI which is the third largest partner of BJP-led NDA has expressed interest to contest the civic polls with BJP. The NCPI consists only of MPs who have broken away from Trinamool Congress post the Assembly election debacle.
Sudip Bandopadhayay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, both senior NCPI leaders have voiced the desire to let their party candidates contest in a few seats together with the BJP in the coming civic elections. And reading between the lines, both Bhattacharya and Roy want to prevent this.
Union minister of state for education and development of north eastern region, Sukanta Majumdar may differ with Bhattacharya and Roy on other issues. But he too feels that only saffron camp activists should be nominated for the civic polls.
With NCPI leaders being given a warm welcome by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister, Amit Shah, the state level parameters for allotting civic poll nomination may be set aside once diktat comes from the very top. Apart from this, exceptions may be made for the persons who have earlier joined the saffron camp from another political outfit and have worked hard at the ward level.
The apprehension of some state BJP leaders of NCPI leaders being given nomination in the civic polls was fuelled by chief minister Adhikari dropping in at NCPI leader Sudip Bandopadhyay’s residence to attend an invitation of Laxmi puja. Their fears were further charged after the NCPI leader on being asked about seat allotments in the coming elections said “I will be satisfied with whatever Prime Minister gives’.
Continuing in the same vein, Bandopadhayay recalled his meeting with chief minister, Adhikari at state secretariat, Nabanna. He aimed that the chief minister had assured him of “allotting a few seats”.
Meanwhile, senior state BJP leaders feel that they are walking on hard rocks in the matter of giving nomination for the civic polls. For BJP is certain of its outreach given the Assembly election results.
The contention of excluding other party nominees is underscored by saffron camp nominees emerging victorious in 10 of 17 constituencies in Kolkata in the Assembly polls. The BJP nominees led in 104 out of 144 wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation in this election.
Meanwhile, Mamata Trinamool Congress spokesman, Kunal Ghosh has claimed that the BJP does not have sufficient number of nominees to be fielded from all the wards of Kolkata hinting the inclusion of nominees from parties not belonging to the BJP. The wards of KMC number 209 post reorganisation.
Yet coming down to brass tacks, a neck to neck electoral battle is the last thing the saffron camp leadership expects next month. Neither the Left nor the two factions of TMC or the Congress have the organisational muscle to either defeat the BJP or emerge as a strong Opposition bloc post polls.
The last date of applying for nomination by filling application in drop boxes is over. Yet hectic lobbying continues for nomination and sparks are flying in the race to represent the outfit likely to run the civic administration of Kolkata and Howrah for the next five years. (IPA Service)
