Team News Riveting
Howrah, November 10
The old versus new row in the Bengal BJP is assuming alarming proportions as the party has to expel Howrah party president Surajit Saha who has been with the saffron camp for the last 28 years.
The development came ahead of civic polls due in Howrah and Calcutta next month. The feud spilled out after a committee was set up under former mayor Rathin Chakraborty for the civic polls, which upset the Saha faction. Calling the committee led by Chakraborty as the B-team of the Trinamool, Saha said he would not work with them whatever be the consequences.
On Tuesday, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikary during an internal meeting accused a section of the BJP in Howrah of being in cahoots with the Trinamool minister from Howrah, Arup Roy. Saha faction saw the comment was directed at it even as many senior state leaders present in the meeting did not contest the Leader of Opposition, who is still seen as an outsider by most of the BJP cadre in Bengal.
Actually, BJP is reeling under severe groupism between the old and new cadre. The party had attracted a large number of Trinammol faces including ministers and legislators like Rajib Banerjee and Vaishali Dalmia before the polls and ended up with a severe drubbing. Rajib has already returned to the Trinamul fold. Saha, claimed on Wednesday, Suvendu leaving the BJP was also a matter of time.
“See I have been with the BJP for 28 years. Neither me nor any other BJP leader from Howrah was not caught on TV camera accepting bribes,” he said pointing towards Suvendu. The party leadership allegedly ignoring the old cadre and betting on new has miserably failed in West Bengal.
“Candidates for the Assembly polls (in the 16 Assembly seats in Howrah) were decided by Suvendu and Rajib. If the party’s central and state leaders have not learned the lesson even after the Assembly polls debacle, they will be rejected again (by the people),” said Saha.
