Posters against BJP MP and party on separate issues put in Raiganj and in hills

In Raiganj, posters were put in name of 'BJP workers', in hills, posters were put up by Hamro Party

Kousik Sen

Kousik Sen, Bireswar Banerjee, TT, Raiganj/Siliguri, 12.02.24 : A poster in Raiganj on Sunday put up in the name of BJP workers which says ‘we want the BJP, but not outsider Debasree Chaudhuri

Posters against a BJP MP and the party on separate issues were put in Raiganj and in the hills on Sunday.

In Raiganj, the posters were put in the name of “BJP workers”. In the hills, posters were put up by Hamro Party, a political force led by Ajoy Edwards.

Raiganj was dotted with posters saying “BJP K Chai! Bohiragoto Debasree Chaudhuri K Noy” (We Want BJP, but not outsider Debasree Chaudhuri).

In the recent past, posters saying residents of the Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency wanted sons and daughters of the soil as Lok Sabha candidates, and not outsiders, were put up in the town. Several ousted BJP leaders had held a demonstration and performed dandi (an act where one prostrates intermittently to cover a distance) on the same demand.

“These posters are more blatant as Chaudhuri, the Raiganj MP, has been named and termed as an outsider, and put in the name of BJP workers. It seems that there are differences within the BJP over the candidate for the Lok Sabha elections,” said a political veteran of the town.

Chaudhuri, who spent her initial years in South Dinajpur, has been based in Calcutta for decades.

District BJP leaders termed the posters a “conspiracy.” “Our political contenders are well aware that we will retain the Raiganj seat. That is why they have put out such posters to create confusion among people. We are trying to find out who has put up the posters and will take legal steps against them,” said Basudeb Sarkar, the BJP president of North Dinajpur.

Trinamul leaders, on the other hand, have scoffed at BJP. “The posters exposed the acute infighting against BJP. The party has lost its support base here and common workers are aggrieved with the MP and leaders. We don’t have any connection with it,” said Arindam Sarkar, a district vice-president of Trinamul.

Calls made to Chaudhuri by this newspaper went unanswered.

In the hills, workers of Hamro Party plastered posters against the BJP in different locations of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik on Sunday, accusing it of not keeping its promises.

“We have supported the BJP for the past 15 years but they (BJP) have simply ignored our aspirations. The key commitments, which include a permanent political solution, Scheduled Tribe status to 11 hill communities and minimum wages for tea workers, made by the BJP leaders ahead of the previous general elections have not been met. That is why we have put up the posters...,” said Dipu Thapa, a central committee leader and the media cell in-charge of Hamro Party.

A Hamro Party leader said that the hills sent BJP MPs to Lok Sabha to get their demands met, but the MPs couldn’t do anything other than highlighting some development work.