BJP jitters over Ananta Maharaj's 'statehood call' ahead of Dhupguri bypoll

 The Centre should look into it and I will flag it.... For years, north Bengal had been neglected by the state government, said Maharaj

Ananta Maharaj: File picture

TT Bureau, Siliguri/Jalpaiguri, 23.08.23  : Leaders of the BJP gearing up for the September 5 Dhupguri bypoll are in a fix as their party’s new Rajya Sabha member Nagendra Roy, aka Ananta Maharaj, has again spoken about a Greater Cooch Behar state.

Ananta, who took oath as the Rajya Sabha member of the BJP in Parliament on Monday, asserted he would stick to his demand for a new state.

Talking to newspersons in Delhi, Ananta said: “It is a longstanding demand. We want a state or a Union territory. The Centre should look into it and I will flag it.... For years, north Bengal had been neglected by the state government. This is yet another reason for raising the demand.”

His assertion led to ripples in his new party as the BJP top brass has instructed its lawmakers from Bengal not to speak on any further division of the state. However, Ananta, who headed a faction of the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association, was always vocal about statehood.

A senior BJP functionary in Jalpaiguri said Ananta was among the star campaigners for the Dhupguri bypoll, but it had become a cause for worry.

“We are worried as his presence in the campaign and his remarks on the issue (of a new state) can jeopardise our bypoll prospects and help Trinamul to accuse us of wanting to divide Bengal,” he said.

Ananta’s name as Rajya Sabha candidate had led to some discontent within the party. There were reports that the RSS, the BJP’s ideological parent, had also objected to it.

The July demise of Dhupguri BJP MLA Bishnupada Roy necessitated the bypoll.

The BJP has played the nationalist card to retain the seat, fielding Tapasi Roy, the wife of a CRPF jawan who died in a terrorist attack in Kashmir, as its candidate.

Jayanta Roy, the BJP MP of Jalpaiguri, said they were also vocal over the “neglect of north Bengal”.

“But when we represent a party, we have to act according to its guidelines. We hope the MP (Ananta) is aware of it,” he said.

An observer pointed out that as Ananta was now a BJP MP, his remarks on statehood would be seen as the party’s stand and evoke reactions from political rivals.

“It will be interesting to see how BJP handles him. The party might try to use him in stoking the sentiments of the Rajbanshis voters but it would only draw criticism, considering the strong anti-division sentiment that pervades the state. That is why it seems that the BJP leaders are in a fix as to whether to stop him from referring to the statehood issue during the Dhupguri bypoll campaign or tell him to skip the campaign,” he said.

Trinamul, which has fielded Nirmal Chandra Roy from Dhupguri, is prepared to handle Ananta, its Jalpaiguri leadership said.

“We will tell voters how the BJP is trying to divide the state and has sent a person who has been advocating the demand for a new state (to be carved out of Bengal) to Rajya Sabha,” said Mahua Gope, the Trinamul chief of Jalpaiguri district.