November 21, 2024

Protests Over Nominations Rock BJP In Bengal

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2021-03-17 06:35:02

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Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

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What is happening to the BJP in West Bengal was always on the cards. The party has admitted workers and leaders from all other parties in the state and frustration was brewing in the rank and file as these 'new' workers and leaders were flexing their muscles and usurping the space hitherto occupied by those who have worked for the party since the beginning. When the nomination lists were announced, the anger spilled on the streets with party workers in many districts choosing to protest before party offices. There was a huge protest gathering in the posh Hastings area of Kolkata where the party has one of its offices.

As the top brass of the party in the state is not in the position to quell these protests (in fact they have fuelled them with decisions that have not gone down well with the workers), the party high command has summoned the top brass to Delhi. Home minister Amit Shah is said to have intervened and asked them to build consensus. But with too many aspirants for each seat, the party is in a soup. It has tried to avert problems by nominating sitting MPs in many seats but that is not a solution. In fact, that has aggravated the problem as local leaders feel they have been overlooked.

This is one problem that the BJP has to solve quickly as it has the potential of derailing the party's campaign. That would be a huge setback in a tough election. If party workers and local leaders are not satisfied, they will not campaign properly for the party and it will suffer. The party has to work to get its house in order quickly if it wishes to provide a tough fight to the TMC, let alone win the elections. These self-goals will make it lose several winnable seats.