After Basirhat opens door, BJP eyes new wins

Shamik Bhattacharya at BJP office in Kolkata Wednesday. (Source: express photo by Subham Dutta)

Emboldened by its victory in Basirhat South constituency in the just-concluded Assembly bypolls, the state BJP is going to embark on a series of agitational programmes in the coming days. While it submitted a memorandum to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Wednesday demanding resignation of the Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University over the police lathicharge on students on Tuesday, it has decided to hold a signature campaign at Hazra crossing on Friday where the party will call for action against those involved in the multi-crore Saradha scam, currently being probed by the CBI and ED.

“The results of the byelection have proved that we now hold the second position (in the state) as both the Congress and the CPI-M have become marginalised. Our target now is the Kolkata Municipal Corporation election (to be held next year) and we are sure we will win. After that we have got the Assembly elections in 2016 in which we will be able to grab power,’’ Rahul Sinha, BJP state unit president, told The Indian Express.

BJP’s Shamik Bhattacharya won the Basirhat South seat with a margin of 1,586 votes. He said he is waiting for a call from the assembly secretariat for the swearing-in.

Meanwhile, the CPI-M on Wednesday squarely blamed the Trinamool Congress for the flourishing of BJP in the state.

“In 1999 BJP’s Badal Bhattacharya first entered the assembly (from Ashoknagar) when it was in an alliance with the TMC. In fact the seeds that TMC sowed have blossomed and they will have to accept that,’’ Biman Bose, Left Front chairman, said at a media conference at the party’s state headquarters in Alimuddin Street.