Sukanta Majumdar sees premature collapse of Mamata Banerjee government, Suvendu Adhikari wants power through polls

 I want to ask the people of Bengal to see what government they have elected, says Dilip Ghosh 

Suvendu Adhikari.File picture

Arkamoy Datta Majumdar, TT, Calcutta, 18.07.23  : Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said on Monday that the BJP wanted to come to power in Bengal through elections, a day after the party's state chief Sukanta Majumdar had said the Mamata Banerjee government could crumble any time and suggested the possibility of a revolt within the Trinamul Congress.

"We want to win elections and come to power and not through the backdoor by imposing the President's Rule," Adhikari said while advocating the invocation of Article 355 in Bengal.

He, however, said the situation in Bengal was fit for the imposition of the President's rule.

Article 355 gives the Centre the power to take over the law and order machinery of a state temporarily to protect it "against external aggression and internal disturbance". Article 356 empowers the Centre to take direct control of state machinery in case the government concerned is unable to function according to constitutional provisions.

The invocation of Article 356 is commonly known as the President's rule.

On Sunday, Majumdar had said the Mamata government would collapse at any moment. He said lawmakers of Trinamul could suddenly desert Mamata en masse or even renounce their positions because of a public uprising.

Sources close to Majumdar said he was suggesting a mutiny like the one in the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra in 2022.

Although Adhikari and Majumdar have been on the same page regarding the implementation of Article 355 in Bengal, the two of them had different opinions on bringing the state government down prematurely.

Adhikari's view was echoed by BJP's national vice president Dilip Ghosh. Ghosh on Monday said he was against toppling a democratically elected government.

"I want to ask the people of Bengal to see what government they have elected. But when a government has been elected by the people, to topple it is against democracy. I do not think that Article 355 or 356 has ever been imposed in Bengal. Also, I cannot remember the BJP imposing these provisions anywhere ever," Ghosh said.

Majumdar said though he was unaware of what Ghosh had said, it was not the BJP's opinion. "This might be his personal opinion," the Balurghat MP said.