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At BJP’s East Burdwan unit meet, rival factions hurl chairs at each other
Discontent has been brewing in the BJP’s East Burdwan unit ever since Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept the March-April Bengal assembly polls in the district.
KOLKATA: Infighting in the Katwa unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bengal’s East Burdwan district came to the fore on Friday when members of two factions hurled chairs at each other at a meeting convened by state president Sukanta Majumdar and his predecessor Dilip Ghosh.
The incident took place in Dainhat town. The chaos started before Majumdar and Ghosh reached the venue of the meeting.
Majumdar and Ghosh, who is now a national vice-president, tried to calm the 30-odd local leaders and their followers. One of the factions owes allegiance to Krishna Ghosh, president of the BJP’s East Burdwan district unit, said local BJP leaders. Krishna Ghosh was allegedly slapped by members of the rival camp.
Discontent has been brewing in the BJP’s East Burdwan unit ever since Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept the March-April assembly polls in the district.
Sunil Mondal, the TMC’s East Burdwan Lok Sabha member who joined BJP along with Suvendu Adhikari in December last year, also distanced himself from the saffron camp after the ruling party demanded his dismissal as a member of Parliament under the anti-defection law.
Majumdar and Ghosh are jointly touring Bengal’s districts to take stock of organizational weaknesses before the formation of new district and community block-level committees. They started the tour two days ago in the adjoining Birbhum district.
“The quarrel started because many in the anti-Krishna Ghosh faction feel that they may not find a place in the new committees. Security personnel accompanying Dilip Ghosh drove them out of the hall where the meeting took place and locked the door,” a BJP leader from Katwa said on condition of anonymity.
Since Krishna Ghosh was appointed by Dilip Ghosh, some leaders opposed to the district president shouted ‘go back’ slogans at the national vice-president.
“If people have anything to say against me, they can always write a complaint to the new state president. They cannot breach discipline. A handful of people joined the BJP with high aspirations. After the poll defeat, they are feeling frustrated. There is nothing wrong with our organisation,” said Ghosh.
Majumdar accused the TMC of engineering the chaos.
“TMC was behind the chaos we witnessed. Dedicated BJP workers do not behave in this manner,” said Majumdar.
The TMC was quick with its comeback.
“You cannot expect anything more when a sheep is replaced by a goat,” TMC’s Birbhum district unit president Anubrata Mondal, who is also in charge of the organisation in East Burdwan, said, a remark seen to allude to the mid-September reshuffle in which Majumdar replaced Ghosh as BJP state president.
