Wasn’t consulted before Cooch Behar BJP nomination: Anant Maharaj

As a Rajya Sabha MP from this state, I wasn’t consulted even once before announcing the candidate. Whether the candidate is right or wrong in Cooch Behar will be determined after the election results

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 5 Mar 2024, Darjeeling: The day after BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Nagendra Nath Roy, popular as Anant Maharaj made public his displeasure over the candidature of Nisith Pramanik from Cooch Behar Parliamentary constituency, Trinamool Congress (TMC) took to the social media dubbing BJP as a “party that chews up its leaders and spits them out like stale chips.” 

“As a Rajya Sabha MP from this state, I wasn’t consulted even once before announcing the candidate. Whether the candidate is right or wrong in Cooch Behar will be determined after the election results,” he had said. 

Speculation has arisen about the potential impact of this discontent on the BJP’s prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. 

Taking to their official handle on X, All India Trinamool Congress wrote: “Rajya Sabha MP Anant Maharaj, upset for being left out of the decision-making process, hilariously accused his own party of using him as a ‘dustbin.’ 

Grab your popcorn guys, this is going to be more dramatic than the 2000s soap opera!” Meanwhile, followers of Ananta Maharaj are also taking to social media to express their discontent with the BJP. 

Anant Maharaj, who holds considerable sway among the Rajbanshis and is associated with the Greater Cooch Behar movement, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP. This move was a means to secure Rajbanshi votes in North Bengal opine political observers. 

While he actively campaigned for the party in previous elections, he was not consulted this time regarding Nisith Pramanik’s candidacy. 

A section of the Rajbanshis feel let down by the BJP. Insiders state that they had expected a Rajbanshi candidate for the Cooch Behar seat. 

The Union government had also assured to start the dialogue process with Chief of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Jibon Singha but failed to do so, which has also spawned discontent among a section of the Rajbanshi community. 

Incidentally, KLO was declared a terrorist outfit by the Indian government in 2014. Jibon Singha, who is underground, through video clips has time and again cried betrayal by the Union government and has given a clarion call for a separate state of Kamtapur asking all to unite for this. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/nation/wasnt-consulted-before-cooch-behar-bjp-nomination-anant-maharaj-554758