Dilip Ghosh, credited with the BJP’s rise in Bengal with an unprecedented 18 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls while he was the party’s state chief, took oath as a minister on Saturday.
The ministerial berth for Ghosh, who had been at the centre of controversy at different junctures of Bengal politics, assumes political significance.
BJP sources said it carried a message that veterans and new faces would run the government.
Last year, Ghosh had met then chief minister Mamata Banerjee at Digha’s Jagannath temple, triggering speculation about his future political moves.
Although no department has been allotted for Ghosh so far, there is buzz that he may emerge as the deputy chief minister or become the minister of the important Paschimanchal Unnayan or rural development departments.
“I took the oath as a minister today, as instructed by our party and legislative members. I don’t know which department will be allocated to me. My task is to work for the people of the state,” Ghosh told The Telegraph.
When journalists asked Ghosh whether the fact that he was the second to take oath after Suvendu Adhikari indicated that he could become deputy chief minister, he neither denied nor admitted it.
“My party has given me such an honour, and I have always worked for the party and will continue to do so. Portfolio is not a subject,” Ghosh added.
Among the five ministers was Agnimitra Paul, who was elected from Asansol North for a second term. She had played a significant role in the Assembly polls under the leadership of Adhikari, who was the leader of the Opposition.
A source said Agnimitra would certainly get an important portfolio in the cabinet. The three other ministers are Ashok Kirtania from Bongaon Uttar Assembly constituency, Kshudiram Tudu from Bankura’s Ranibandh and Nisith Pramanik from Mathabhanga.
“The persons who took oath along with the chief minister were selected to represent different communities,” said a senior leader.
Ghosh had developed a distance from the party organisation after the 2021 Assembly elections. Many BJP insiders claimed that because of internal differences, Ghosh was fielded from the Durgapur-Burdwan Lok Sabha seat despite his demand to contest from his home turf in Midnapore in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He was defeated in that election but was once again fielded as the BJP’s Kharagpur Sadar candidate in the Assembly polls this year and won.
BJP sources said that after Samik Bhattacharya was appointed the party’s state president, one of his first major steps was to bring back old guards and many others, who had been sidelined, to the mainstream. The message was clear — work together to win the elections.
Ghosh was invited and given multiple responsibilities in the party by Bhattacharya, who played a significant role in different sectors.
“Samik da’s role as the state president will be remembered for many years. Differences among leaders in any political party are not new, but the real calibre lies in bringing them under one umbrella to create a cumulative force against the Trinamool Congress. Samik da did it,” said a BJP leader.
BJP sources said that, like the organisation, the cabinet would have a combination of old and new faces, which was why Ghosh was inducted into the cabinet.
“Dilip da took the oath after Suvendu da. That means he is the second most important face in the cabinet after the chief minister,” the leader said, adding that Ghosh was not only an old-timer but also a face who had worked intensely for the RSS.
Multiple sources said that after the BJP’s victory, there were demands from Ghosh’s supporters that he be made the chief minister, highlighting his performance in earlier elections, particularly in 2019, which was the party’s first major booster in Bengal.
“The new government will have room for representatives of every community. It will not function in the way the TMC government did. The cabinet will take collective decisions after discussions and taking opinions from all members,” a source said.
The motto of the BJP’s first Bengal government became clear when Adhikari announced on Friday that the administration would function not as “I” but as “We”.