After months on the sidelines, why Dilip Ghosh is back in BJP’s Bengal poll plans

The move to restore Ghosh to the party’s state leadership is among the most significant decisions that the BJP has taken recently, aimed at sending a message of unity among party leaders and workers. It also signals its intent to pursue a “no-holds-barred” campaign with Ghosh, a known “firebrand”, set to play a key role.

On Friday, Ghosh told the media, “This is nothing new to me. Amit Shah has asked me to work. Whenever the party had earlier asked me to work, I did. In this (forthcoming) election, whatever party asks me to do, I will work for that. The BJP has already done rallies at the grassroots level. The state president will hold rallies across the state, and we will be with him.” He is scheduled to participate in rallies beginning January 6.

“It may have come as a surprise to many, but it was on the cards. Unity of the party’s Bengal unit is of supreme importance for our Delhi leadership. One must remember, the BJP is a regimented party. Party stalwarts, even Narendra Modi ji or Amit Shah ji, may visit Bengal many times, but it is the local leaders and workers who will actually play a crucial role in the polls … Here is where leaders like Ghosh come into importance,” said a senior BJP leader from Delhi.

According to party insiders, the leadership of the Bengal BJP rests on three people at the moment: state chief Bhattacharya, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, and former state president Sukanta Majumdar. This is besides the state in-charges and out-of-state leaders brought in during elections.

“Bringing in Ghosh, there is a clear indication that these four need to work in cohesion for the party’s victory in the Assembly polls,” said a senior state BJP leader. It remains to be seen if the party can rise above the factional feuds that had hampered its growth in the state earlier and if these leaders can work together to put up an effective challenge to the TMC.

From RSS to Bengal BJP chief

Before entering politics, Ghosh rose through the RSS ranks, beginning as a pracharak in 1984, before serving as its Andaman and Nicobar Islands in-charge from 1999 to 2007, and then an assistant to former RSS national chief K S Sudarshan. In 2014, he moved to the BJP and was appointed the party’s Bengal general secretary. Just a year later, he was appointed Bengal BJP president and reappointed to the post in 2020.

Under his leadership, the BJP saw a marked improvement in its electoral performances in Bengal, culminating in a party record 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and 77 Assembly seats in 2021 (of a total 42 Lok Sabha and 294 Assembly seats). Its vote share also rose considerably under Ghosh, from 10.16% in 2016 to 40.25% in 2019, 37.97% in 2021. By the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party dropped to 12 seats but maintained its vote share at 39.9%.

However, the BJP’s 2021 performance fell short of its expectations of dethroning the TMC and Mamata Banerjee, and just months later, amid factional feuds in the party, Majumdar replaced him as the party’s state chief.

After that, Ghosh became increasingly isolated in the party and withdrew from the limelight. During the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he was given a ticket from the Burdwan-Durgapur seat instead of his usual Medinipur, which he had represented earlier as an MP. But in Burdwan-Durgapur, Ghosh lost to former cricketer and TMC leader Kirti Azad.

The distance between Ghosh and the Bengal BJP widened further after Ghosh visited the Jagannath Temple in Digha and briefly met Mamata on April 30 last year. Since then, he has been absent from most BJP events, including rallies led by the Prime Minister.

“Though it is always a team effort for party functioning and wins, one cannot undermine the fact that the BJP grew when Ghosh was the state president,” said a senior state party leader.

According to BJP leaders, Ghosh’s grassroots-level connect, popularity across the state and “aggressive campaign style” as a firebrand leader are all factors behind his return, despite having sparked numerous controversies over his career.

“He is a firebrand leader who sometimes created controversies through his statements. But yet we need such leaders when we are tackling the terror of the TMC at the grassroots level,” said a senior party leader from Delhi.

However, the TMC and Left do not see much significance in Ghosh’s return to the political arena.

TMC state secretary Kunal Ghosh also dismissed the development. “From the BJP’s point of view, Dilip Ghosh was one of the most successful state presidents. But it is their own party leaders who cornered him. Those who cornered him, their own performance did not make Delhi bosses happy. That is why Ghosh was brought back. However, the fact that Ghosh is back in the BJP is the blessing of Digha’s Lord Jagannath. He should once again go there and offer pranam to Lord Jagannath,” he said.

CPI(M) leader Shatarup Ghosh said, “A BJP leader has re-joined the BJP. What big news? Dilip Ghosh was axed by his own party. What can we say?”