Samik Bhattacharya, the BJP's 61-year-old Rajya Sabha member, is a step away from helming the party's Bengal unit as the state heads for the crucial Assembly elections next year.
Bhattacharya emerged as the sole contender to file the nomination for the post of Bengal BJP president presently held by Sukanta Majumdar.
The official announcement of Bhattacharya as the state BJP president will take place on Thursday.
Multiple BJP sources said that Bhattacharya’s appointment had the approval of the RSS as they believe that the MP would act as a bridge between various factions of the saffron camp. An RSS swayamsevak since 1971, Bhattacharya was the ideal choice for the top post as he represented a blend of RSS values and what today's BJP represents, said an insider.
However, when party's goal is to conquer Bengal, the major challenge for Bhattacharya would be to mobilise the entire organisational machinery and prepare it to take on the formidable Trinamool Congress in less than a year. As Bhattacharya prepares himself for the hot seat, The Telegraph dives deep into the hits and misses of the BJP's consensus candidate ahead of the crucial Bengal polls.
RSS backing
Under the leadership of former state president Dilip Ghosh, the BJP secured an unprecedented 18 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 in the 2019 general elections. Under Sukanta Majumdar’s leadership, the tally fell to 12 in 2024. A BJP source said last year’s setback was a consequence of factionalism and lack of coordination between the RSS and the BJP. A senior BJP leader pointed out that the recently held Delhi and Haryana Assembly elections proved how proper coordination between the RSS and BJP could yield results. While the RSS was not directly involved in polls, it played a critical behind-the-scenes role in Delhi by organising micro-level underground meetings. Thus, the RSS’s approval of Bhattacharya carried weight for the BJP. A senior RSS functionary in Calcutta said: “We welcome Samik Bhattacharya.... He has organisational capability and is a well-known face in Bengal.”
An urbane Bengali
Multiple BJP sources said the party needed a proper Bengali —someone who can understand the cultural ethos of Bengal’s educated middle class, something his immediate predecessors arguably lacked. Bhattacharya, the party’s chief spokesperson before becoming a Rajya Sabha member, is a familiar figure known for his articulate speeches, which the BJP hopes will help them connect with Bengal. As the TMC frequently accuses the BJP of being a party of outsiders unfamiliar with Bengal’s culture, Bhattacharya has been put forward as a strategic counter. “Samik-da can relate to people both in the city and in rural areas,” said a BJP leader. Despite being rivals, Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh acknowledged that Bhattacharya refrains from personal attacks and discourtesy. “He reads books and can recite poetry,” Ghosh said, though he questioned whether Bhattacharya could help the BJP electorally.
Bridge across factions
Bhattacharya is a unifying figure with access to all BJP factions, said a party veteran. BJP insiders said that Bhattacharya can work with the two dominant camps within the party — one led by Sukanta Majumdar and the other by Suvendu Adhikari. Many, however, felt Bhattacharya's appointment would give more space to Adhikari within the organisation. To showcase the state unit as a unified entity, both Majumdar and Adhikari signed and proposed Bhattacharya's candidature. Aware of the factionalism, Bhattacharya said on Wednesday that there would be no "old or new" divisions in the party to ensure the goal of defeating Trinamool.
Organisational poser
Though endorsed by the RSS, BJP leaders are divided on Bhattacharya’s organisational ability.
His advocates speak about his long tenure in the party, his past role as youth wing leader and his service as state general secretary for three terms. They also point to how he overcame Trinamool's organisational clout to win the Basirhat Assembly bypoll in 2014. However, critics argue that he lacks an organisational base in north Bengal, which is also the party's stronghold.
What rivals say
Trinamool's Kunal Ghosh said his party had nothing to comment on organisational appointments of other parties, but didn’t miss the chance to take a swipe at the BJP's state president-designate. “I think he won't have much time to focus on Trinamool as he will be busy handling those within his party — those who want posts or want to push their own people in key positions,” Ghosh said. The CPM saw RSS's hand in Bhattacharya's elevation. "He was an MLA and is currently a Rajya Sabha MP. Both the RSS and the BJP trust him, but it is the RSS that has the final say," said CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty.