BJP’s course correction in Bengal: Doors shut against mass joining of turncoats

The BJP said it will be very particular about leaders’ antecedents and no leader associated with the mafia raj that the state’s ruling party is engaged in will be allowed

The Bharatiya Janata Party is planning to go on a course correction drive ahead of the crucial assembly polls in West Bengal by shutting its doors to rampant and mass joining of turncoats in the poll-bound eastern state.

Suvendu Adhikari recently joined the BJP in West Bengal. (HT Photo)

With just two months to go for the assembly polls and the BJP emerging as the primary opponent of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), leaders from various political parties, the maximum from the TMC, were making a beeline to join the largest party in India.

“For now, we are shutting our doors to mass joining of leaders, which has been going on over the past few months,” said Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP’s national general secretary and the party’s in-charge of West Bengal.

According to BJP leaders, around two dozen sitting and former MLAs and scores of district and block level leaders from various political parties have switched over to the BJP since 2019.

Recently, two former ministers and ex-MLAs of the TMC – Suvendu Adhikari and Rajiv Banerjee – joined the party along with a cache of MLAs and district-level leaders.

“Henceforth, only select leaders will be allowed to join the BJP. We will be very particular about their antecedents and no leader associated with the mafia raj that the state’s ruling party is engaged in will be allowed,” said Vijayvargiya.

Senior BJP leaders said that the party is now eyeing the bigwigs who have a clean image and enough fan following to win from a constituency in the coming elections.

The decision came in the wake of infighting, which has cropped up in some places in the BJP between the newcomers and old-timers of the party. Party workers were seen voicing their disgruntlement against some newcomers who were inducted by the party’s leadership.

Recently clashes were reported from Burdwan and Asansol in front of the party’s senior leadership on January 21.

“BJP is a politically bankrupt and confused party. They have no option but to take leaders from other parties by giving them attractive proposals or by threatening the leaders using some central investigative agencies. They have failed to project any face in Bengal. Infighting has begun within the party. So they need not shut their doors, the people of Bengal will shut the doors for the BJP,” said Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesperson.

Buoyed by its impressive gains in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls wherein the party won 18 of the 42 seats, the BJP has set a target of winning more than 200 seats in the 294-seated legislative assembly.