The BJP’s newly elected Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya on Sunday urged for a “united Mohun Bagan–East Bengal” style political battle against the Trinamul Congress in next year’s Assembly polls by evoking the names of Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Jyoti Basu almost in the same breath.

During his speech on the occasion of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s 125th birth anniversary, Bhattacharya, an RSS old guard, said the situation in Bengal has reached a point where even die-hard rivals like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal must set aside their flags and come together to fight a united battle against Mamata Banerjee’s party.

“If supporters of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal can unite, then everyone can,” said a BJP leader.

He offered a tribute to CPM leader and former chief minister Jyoti Basu for co-signing the June 20, 1947 resolution that led to the Partition of undivided Bengal for the creation of Bengal to be retained in India. He also appealed to his followers to save Bengal by setting aside their party flags.

“I urge those who respect Jyoti Basu to first save Bengal from today’s Trinamool Congress. Later, you can easily retrieve your flags,” Bhattacharya said while addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters on Muralidhar Sen lane.

He made it clear that freeing Bengal from the “atrocious rule” of Trinamool would not be possible for a single political party if Opposition votes remain divided. He also appealed to “non-radical” Muslims to support the BJP.

This gesture clearly indicates that the BJP is adopting a distinct political strategy in Bengal — a shift from its hardline Hindutva stance and anti-CPM rhetoric.

BJP insiders said the move by the new state president has been endorsed by the central leadership, which has agreed that Hindu consolidation alone would not be enough to defeat Trinamool unless the party can tap into broader voter bases.

“I offer my pranam to those Congress MLAs who had set aside their party flags and co-signed the June 20 resolution with Syama Prasad Mookerjee. I offer my pranam to Jyoti Basu and Ratanlal Brahmin (both communists) who helped creating today’s West Bengal,” Bhattacharya, also a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, said during another programme at Syama Prasad Colony in Lake Town.

Multiple BJP sources said that since his maiden speech as state president on July 3, Bhattacharya has made it clear that his leadership will not follow the party’s previous hardline Hindutva approach. His Sunday speeches reinforced the view that defeating Mamata Banerjee in next year’s elections cannot rely solely on Hindu consolidation.

“The Kaliganj by-election proved that Hindu consolidation cannot be the sole strategy, a tactic leaders like Suvendu Adhikari relied upon. If the BJP wants to win Bengal, it must secure anti-Trinamool votes from all sections — even from die-hard CPM or Congress supporters. If this narrative gains even limited traction, the BJP is likely to see better electoral outcomes in next year’s polls,” said a party insider.

He also cited the example of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when the BJP made unprecedented gains, winning 18 out of 42 seats in Bengal and raising its vote share to 40.25 per cent from 17.2 per cent in 2014.

“With Muslims forming around 30 per cent of Bengal’s voters, hardline Hindutva has only helped Trinamool consolidate Muslim votes. There is no logic in ignoring 30 per cent of the electorate and contesting with the remaining 70 per cent. That’s why Samikda is not only appealing to Muslims but also urging other political parties to unite,” the source added.

The CPM and Congress strongly criticised Bhattacharya’s appeal, claiming the BJP leader was attempting to court Muslim voters and other parties because they have failed to win Bengal on its own.

“This is a veiled attempt by the BJP, as they now realise that Hindutva politics doesn’t work in Bengal. So they are trying to mislead the people, even though their core agenda remains unchanged,” said CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty, who reminded the new BJP president of what Jyoti Basu had said after the Babri Masjid demolition.

“During a rally, Jyotibabu had said that then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s party consisted of uncivilised and barbaric people. BJP leaders should also recall that out of the 58 members who voted for the creation of West Bengal, Syama Prasad Mookerjee was the only one from Jana Sangh — the rest were from other parties.... So how can they claim that the resolution was solely Mookerjee’s?” Chakraborty asked.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said: “The BJP is a communal force trying to destroy India’s unity and pluralism. As they failed to gain ground in Bengal, they are calling for Hindu-Muslim unity. We urge everyone to unite against the BJP to ensure their ouster.”

Trinamool leaders claimed Bhattacharya’s approach, especially when leaders like Suvendu Adhikari openly target Muslims, would only confuse people.

Adhikari maintained his hardline Hindutva stance on Sunday.

“According to the 1951 census, Hindus were 85 per cent, and now their share has declined to 67 per cent. Hindus must unite to uphold the responsibility entrusted by Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Otherwise, ... we’ll come under Shariyat law,” Adhikari claimed.