The BJP on Monday replaced its West Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh with Sukanta Majumdar, Lok Sabha MP from Balurghat in the state. The latter has been made the national vice president of the party.
In a statement, the party today announced its decision concerning the reshuffle and further highlighted the appointment of former Uttarakhand governor Baby Rani Maurya as BJP’s vice president. The party communique issued, stated that the appointment of Dilip Ghosh was done by the BJP president JP Nadda.
The clout of Ghosh, whose tenure as the president of BJP’s West Bengal unit witnessed a rise of the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, began waning within the part-fold after the 2021 Bengal elections when several BJP members, including Babul Supriyo, switched camps to the Trinamul Congress which secured a landslide victory against the saffron brigade in the state polls. Most of the turncoats had blamed Ghosh for having to leave the party.
The decision to bring in a new West Bengal president is being seen as part of the BJP’s efforts to reinvigorate its organisation in the state amid desertions by a number of its leaders. However, party sources said that the move was aimed to fill the post of the vice president which fell vacant after Mukul Roy switched back to Trinamul once again.
Political observers stated the appointment of Sukanta Majumdar, a Lok Sabha BJP MP from Balurghat was amove by the BJP to ensure it can secure its organisational structure in North Bengal. A party source said that Majumder shares a good rapport with most party workers and MLAs, MPs.
Meanwhile, the appointment of Maurya is being viewed as a strategy towards securing ground in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. Maurya is a Dalit leader and is expected to play a role in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, her native state.