The Bengal BJP leadership, headed by president Samik Bhattacharya, has started meeting party leaders and MLAs at district levels to prepare a road map on how to run the organisation after coming to power in the state.
A senior BJP leader in Calcutta said that after the party came to power, it became a fresh challenge to run the organisation in the right direction amid attempts by Trinamool Congress leaders and workers to infiltrate the BJP. Reports have emerged that several Trinamool leaders are trying to take control of their respective areas using the vacuum created after the defeat of Mamata Banerjee’s party.
Besides Bhattacharya, senior BJP functionaries such as state general secretaries Locket Chatterjee and Sashi Agnihotri, along with senior party MPs, have been assigned to sit with leaders in various organisational districts and convey messages on how to run the affairs as a ruling party.
“I will attend such meetings in four organisational districts. However, meetings to provide proper direction will take place in all 43 organisational districts of the state,” Bhattacharya told The Telegraph.
After the BJP won the Bengal elections with a sweeping victory, Bhattacharya had said that the party's target would be to prevent "Trinamoolisation" of the BJP.
According to him, the BJP has been guiding its district units mainly on three issues. First, to identify and remove those Trinamool people who became self-proclaimed BJP workers after the election. Second, to address reports of alleged deviation by some people inside the party after the victory. Third, to prevent the politics of capture that had become the hallmark of the Trinamool Congress.
“The message is clear. We are asking our leaders to prevent any kind of deviation, arrogance and the practice of capture politics. They have been instructed on how to help people solve their problems and local issues in coordination with the government,” added the BJP state chief.
BJP insiders said the party decided to form a 15-member core committee in each district to oversee organisational functioning and ensure that no individual could monopolise the organisation regarding development-related matters. Apart from organisational heads, local party MLAs and MPs will be part of those committees.
Of the 15 members of the committee, two will be state office-bearers.
There are already reports within the BJP about a few leaders from different districts allegedly raiding government offices, threatening people and maintaining links with corrupt Trinamool leaders who are trying to join the party.
Another challenge for the BJP is to prevent a Trinamool-like extortion model involving trade unions, businessmen and promoters.
“The main challenge is to keep the party units free from Trinamool-like corruption. It is not that every BJP member is completely clean or free from greed and corruption. So, there will be robust surveillance in the districts. The core committee will help in taking collective decisions and reporting to the state government before any important decision is taken. They will also report wrongdoing by party functionaries if any complaint is received,” said a senior BJP leader.
In some districts, the BJP has noticed that some MLAs were felicitated by corrupt promoters and Trinamool leaders after their victory. The district leaders have been asked to refrain from associating with such people, as the people of the state voted for the BJP against them.
Bhattacharya has said the BJP’s doors are completely closed to those involved in corruption and atrocities against BJP workers, particularly those Trinamool leaders who are hated by local people.
He added that after three months, the BJP might consider those who had been with Trinamool since its inception but were sidelined because of growing corruption in the party.
Recently, Bhattacharya’s comment about “bhalo Trinamool (good Trinamool)" gained traction on social media after a large number of party workers protested against the induction of anyone associated with Trinamool into the BJP.
Bhattacharya clarified that he had no intention of dividing Trinamool into “good” or “bad”, but the reaction on social media reflected how strongly people in Bengal had rejected the party.
A senior leader has said that the BJP is not overly concerned about the induction of people from other parties, but is more focused on keeping the organisation intact and ensuring the good governance promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.