With Assembly elections in West Bengal less than three months away, the BJP on Wednesday reconstituted its state office bearers committee, six months after Samik Bhattacharya was appointed the state unit chief.
The announcement of the new team comes on the eve of BJP national president JP Nadda’s two-day visit to the state.
While some new faces have made it to the state committee, there are no big surprises in the 34-member new team, comprising 12 vice-presidents, five general secretaries, 12 secretaries, one treasurer, two joint treasurers, one office secretary, and one joint office secretary.
Though the leadership had initially planned to roll out the team before Durga Puja, reported friction between the party’s old guard and new inductees repeatedly delayed the exercise.
Dilip Ghosh has been kept out of the state committee despite recent public messaging from the central leadership to involve the former state unit president in election campaigning.
Among the new vice-presidents are MLA Agnimitra Pal, Jagannath Chatterjee (both were previously general secretaries), MLA Deepak Barman, and Manoj Tigga.
Tapas Roy, who recently joined the BJP from TMC, and former Union Minister of State Nisith Pramanik have also been made vice-president, a move widely seen in the party as honour without operational control.
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Of the five general secretaries, only Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato and Locket Chatterjee have retained the post. The three new general secretaries are Bishnupur MP Soumitra Khan, Kolkata-based leader Shashi Agnihotri, and Bapi Goswami from north Bengal. While Goswami represents the RSS-rooted old cadre, Khan is a post-2019 inductee.
Among the 12 secretaries are Shankar Ghosh, the chief whip of the party in the Assembly who was recently attacked by a mob during a visit to landslide-hit parts of north Bengal. The Siliguri MLA has been aggressive in the Assembly and was marshalled out of the House in the last session.
The other secretaries are Dipanjan Guha, Sonali Murmu, Manoj Pandey, Amlan Bhaduri, Mahadev Sarkar, Sintu Senapati, Sharvari Mukherjee, Mohan Sharma, Bibha Majumdar, and Sanjay Verma. Sonali Murmu had contested the last Assembly elections from Keshiary (Scheduled Tribe-reserved) constituency. Mahadev Sarkar was the state president of the party’s Kishan Morcha.
Malda West MP Khagen Murmu, who was seriously injured in the September mob attack in Jalpaiguri, has been appointed the state unit chief of the party’s Scheduled Tribe Morcha.
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Dr Indranil Khan, a medical practitioner, will continue to lead the party’s youth wing, while Falguni Patra has been named state Mahila Morcha president. Rajiv Bhowmik is the new Kisan Morcha chief, Shubhendu Sarkar will lead the OBC Morcha and Sujit Biswas, the SC Morcha.
According to party sources, the new state committee is a “mix of both old timers and new entrants”.
While leaders like Biman Ghosh and Lakshman Chandra Ghorui have not made it to the list, party sources said the strategy was to involve leaders who will not be busy with their own election campaign. “Many leaders have not been appointed to the state committee or have been given posts where the responsibility is a bit less, as they will be busy campaigning in the election as candidates. This is the new strategy,” a senior party leader said.
Tanusree Bose is a dedicated journalist reporting for The Indian Express from Kolkata. Her work focuses sharply on the complex administrative, political, and judicial developments across West Bengal, establishing her as an authoritative voice in regional news coverage.
Experience
Current Role: Reports for the prestigious national daily, The Indian Express, providing her content with a high level of Trustworthiness.
Geographical Expertise: Provides focused, in-depth coverage of West Bengal, demonstrating an intimate knowledge of the state's news and political nuances.
Core Authority: Her reporting portfolio highlights deep Expertise in crucial, often sensitive, beats, including:
State Politics and Governance: Covering the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), opposition strategies (BJP), and internal political controversies.
Judicial and Administrative Affairs: Closely monitoring key developments in the Calcutta High Court, particularly major rulings related to employment, education, and social issues.
Education Sector: Extensive reporting on significant controversies, such as teacher recruitment irregularities and administrative actions by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).
Social & Electoral Issues: Covering public events, community tensions (e.g., religious/political gatherings), and election-related processes like the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
Tanusree Bose's consistent output and focus on high-stakes regional issues for a trusted media outlet underscore her status as a reliable and authoritative source for news from West Bengal. ... Read More
