Suvendu-Dilip feud casts cloud on BJP committee

In every state where the BJP is either in power or in the Opposition, a coordination committee is mandatory to maintain liaison and communication between legislators and state leadership of the party

Suvendu Adhikari: File picture

Arkamoy Datta Majumdar   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |  28.08.21:  The BJP is yet to form a committee for coordination between the legislature party and the state unit even after almost four months passed since the Assembly poll results were out apparently because of a feud between the factions led by Dilip Ghosh and Suvendu Adhikari.

In every state where the BJP is either in power or in the Opposition, a coordination committee is mandatory to maintain liaison and communication between legislators and state leadership of the party.

Although the BJP’s Nandigram MLA Suvendu Adhikari was elected the leader of the legislature party in Bengal on May 10, the coordination committee has not been constituted. Sources attributed the delay to the rift between the factions led by Adhikari and state unit chief Dilip Ghosh.

That Ghosh and his lobby don’t see eye to eye with Trinamul Congress turncoat Adhikari and his team, more so since the latter’s rise in importance within the BJP after the elections, is perhaps the worst-kept secret in the saffron camp.

Dilip Ghosh: File picture

“The coordination committee is crucial in our party’s scheme of things because it is a bridge between the two arms. Any sort of policy decision, grievance or problem is addressed and sorted out by this committee,” a state BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.

Ghosh has repeatedly iterated at closed-door meetings that the legislators must consult the party before taking a decision or making a public move. His comments, party sources said, were directed at Adhikari, who made multiple visits to Delhi without consulting Ghosh.

According to the sources, leaders close to Ghosh intend to maintain a distance from Adhikari and his team, which has caused the delay in the setting up of the committee.

“Suvenduda’s meteoric rise in the BJP, despite his desertion from Trinamul only in December last year, has not gone down well with Dilipda and his associates. The formation of the committee has been delayed because of Dilipda’s dislike and other factors,” said another source in the BJP.

Sayantan Basu, a state general-secretary, admitted that there had been a delay in setting up the coordination committee.

“We know there has been a delay…. This committee is prioritised in states where we are in power. We will do it here too, at the earliest,” he said.