Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar on Monday stalled appointments of four mandal presidents at Haldia and Moyna in East Midnapore, shortly after their names were announced.

The unexpected diktat prompted several party old-timers to question if the Balurghat MP was bowing down to pressure from his party colleague and the leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari.

The Assembly constituencies of Haldia and Moyna are represented by BJP MLAs Tapasi Mondal and Ashok Dinda, both known to be close to Adhikari. BJP sources said the four names announced by BJP Tamluk organisational district president didn’t find favour with the two MLAs.

According to sources, the disapproval of the MLAs was the reason why within three hours of the announcement, a notice issued in the name of Majumdar was sent to the district chief, directing him to stall the appointments of Madhab Bera, Susanta Midya, Debasish Dasgupta and Surajit Malakar as chiefs of Moyna North, Moyna South, Haldia Nagar 3 and Sutahata 1 mandals, respectively, “until further notice” from the state unit.

“It appears Sukantada has bowed down to Suvenduda,” a BJP source said. “Ashok and Tapasi are close to Adhikari. They manipulated our party president through the leader of the Opposition it appears.”

Calls by this newspaper to Majumdar went unanswered.

Several other Bengal BJP veterans are of the opinion that this incident is yet another proof of Adhikari’s clout.

A BJP leader said: “Despite ours being a party where the word of the president is followed strictly, in Bengal the LOP is calling the shots. Does this mean that the new entrants to the BJP will now have an upper hand in the functioning of the party?"

Like Adhikari, Mondal and Dinda had joined the BJP ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls.