North Bengal BJP to focus on turncoats - a speech against Trinamul by a former Trinamul leader can help draw support

Unlike in the south, the party in the north managed to get only three MLAs and a former MP on board

Since 2019, BJP has been focussing on north Bengal as it won seven of eight Lok Sabha seats.

TT Bureau   |   Siliguri   |    28.01.21 : The BJP leadership in north Bengal has decided to draw up a plan to ensure the consistent presence of new entrants of the party in political events that the party is carrying out in the region.

“There is a perception within the leadership that the presence of those who have recently joined BJP, particularly from Trinamul, in political programmes can prove more effective for the party. It is not that leaders who are with us for years now will take a backseat but in public meetings, a speech against Trinamul by a former Trinamul leader can help draw support from people,” said a BJP insider.

He pointed out that the strategy worked in south Bengal, where political activities of Suvendu Adhikari, Sovan Chatterjee, Arjun Singh and Soumitra Khan — all Trinamul turncoats — brought in extra political dividend for the saffron camp.

In north Bengal, the BJP is still in search of prominent Trinamul turncoats. Unlike in the south, the BJP in the north managed to get only three MLAs and a former MP on board. Though state leaders have hinted that some popular Trinamul leaders will eventually defect, that hasn’t happened yet. 

“Those who joined us so far (in north) can’t match the popularity of Suvendu or even Sovon. Even so, it has been decided that they (turncoats) should be called at political events organised across north Bengal, not just their areas,” the BJP leader added.

Since 2019, BJP has been focussing on north Bengal as it won seven of eight Lok Sabha seats. For 2021, the party has set a target to secure 50 of 54 Assembly seats in the region.

BJP central leaders tasked with spreading the party’s base in north Bengal have held a number of indoor meetings in Siliguri.

But a political observer said that in north Bengal most BJP events were held in the presence of one or more state leaders or even central leaders. “It appears that those from Trinamul are yet to participate in a full-fledged manner. That is why, it seems, the leadership has come up with the plan (to make turncoats more visible),” he said.