Team News Riveting
Even as more than 10 days have passed since former governor of Tripura and Meghalaya Tathagata Roy has applied for BJP membership, the dilly-dally attitude of party high command has sparked off debate in West Bengal.
While a section said the delay was because of internal feud within Bengal BJP leadership that was trying to settle scores with the veteran leader, others said the party managers had been minutely analysing the “utility” of the veteran leader.
The BJP leadership is eyeing to trounce Mamata Banerjee in the ensuing election as the party cadre are enthusiastic and in a very active mode. It does not wish to make any error at the final stage that will demoralise party cadre and spill out the feud in open.
For the BJP, keeping its own house in order in West Bengal is top in the priority list to take on Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee.
The rivalry between BJP state president Dilip Ghosh and Tathagata Roy is no secret in Bengal politics. Roy had been openly criticising the state party leadership and fumed at a recent web seminar that people currently running the party in Bengal weren’t doing it the right way.
Roy’s term as the governor of Meghalaya ended in August 2020, following which he expressed his intention to make a comeback to active politics in Bengal.
Following protocols, Roy had quit the party after his posting as the governor of Tripura in 2015. After relieving from the post, he became an ordinary member through the missed call route. He later applied for “active membership” that is pending with the state party leadership.
The faction led by Ghosh knows that Roy had to be granted membership. He has an RSS background and direct access to the central leadership.
By giving importance to Roy, BJP leadership did not wish to create another new power centre in Bengal.
