BJP has a mutiny on its hands in Bengal: With workers up in arms, is 35 LS seats a goal too far?

Here are a few recent incidents of protests by BJP workers:

September 12: Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar was locked inside a BJP office in Bankura for his alleged failure to protect party workers from the TMC’s “atrocities”.

September 23: Some BJP workers in Bankura burnt tyres and staged a protest against Sarkar for his alleged dictatorial attitude, particularly on appointments.

October 11: A group of BJP workers from Barasat in the North 24 Parganas district created a ruckus outside the party office in Kolkata’s Salt Lake, protesting against the formation of the Barasat organisational district committee without seeking their input. They alleged that some of the office-bearers were Trinamool supporters.

October 12: Some BJP workers protested outside the state party headquarters in central Kolkata. They demanded the ouster of Majumdar and state general secretary (organisation) Amitava Chakravorty, among others.

Following the latest protests, during which some workers also expressed displeasure at the party’s West Bengal co-observer Amit Malviya and MP Jagannath Sarkar, Majumdar warned of action against those demonstrating. “Our party is known for discipline. We won’t tolerate indiscipline. The dissatisfied party workers must communicate with the party leaders or express their concerns through proper channels. But under any circumstances, such protests cannot be tolerated. We will take stern action,” he said.

The protests are likely to trigger alarms within the BJP as it prepares to achieve the central leadership’s target of winning 35 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. In 2019, the party won 22 LS constituencies, its best-ever performance in parliamentary elections in the state.

Former BJP state president Dilip Ghosh asked the current state leadership to adopt a softer approach. “We need to have a more delicate approach to deal with such issues. Party workers are our assets. We cannot ignore their contributions to the party. There should be a thorough examination of the reasons behind the protests. We must address their concerns by holding talks with them,” he said.

Several BJP workers have accused the state leadership of favouring new entrants and sidelining veterans such as Ghosh who helped it gain ground in the state. Ghosh was dropped as the party’s national vice president in July.

Meanwhile, the TMC criticised the BJP for failing to combat its internal strife. Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “The BJP aspires to come to power in West Bengal but the reality is that it struggles to manage internal conflicts. They should stop dreaming of defeating the TMC and work on controlling the infighting.”

The TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen said, “A circus is going on in the BJP even before the arrival of winter. The BJP today stands for Bharatiya Joker Party. The party is riddled with infighting. The party leaders are being locked inside their party offices. If this continues how will they compete with us? They had lost connection with people. Now they have lost the connection with their workers.”