Bengal's new BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar vows to fight 'Talibanisation' of state

Kolkata: Newly appointed West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar on Tuesday vowed to fight against the “Talibanisation of the state” and asserted that the party would rectify its mistakes and emerge stronger in the days to come. Majumdar, the party’s MP from Balurghat, urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to “stop harbouring ambitions of becoming the next prime minister” and concentrate on running West Bengal properly. Refusing to attach much importance to the series of defections plaguing the saffron camp over the past few months, Majumdar said those committed to his party’s ideology will never leave. “With the cooperation of my predecessors and the Central leadership, I will continue my fight against the Talibanisation of the state. For us, BJP workers are our real assets. If we have committed any mistake, we will rectify it,” Majumdar said at his felicitation ceremony at the party’s state headquarters. He asserted that those who believe that they are capable of causing harm to the saffron camp by deserting it are “grossly mistaken”. “Our honourable chief minister is thinking of becoming the next prime minister. But let me tell her with all due respect that Narendra Modi will continue serving the country as the prime minister after 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “The state BJP unit will gift Modi ji more seats from Bengal than it did in 2019,” he maintained. Later, while addressing party workers and leaders at the Hastings office, Majumdar slammed the state government over cases of post-poll violence and questioned the “stoic silence” of intellectuals over the current law and order situation in the state. “I want to ask the intellectuals of this state why they are maintaining silence on the violence and torture that have been unleashed on BJP workers since the announcement of Assembly poll results. A specific community was instigated to attack our party workers. Is this a sign of healthy democracy? “The intellectuals are all quiet; they haven’t uttered a word. But they get very active when it comes to finding flaws in speeches of our leaders Tathagata Roy and Dilip Ghosh,” he claimed. Reaching out to the fence-sitters in the party, Majumdar said he wants to take everybody along and work to strengthen the organisation across the state. “I don’t want anyone to leave the party. But if someone, due to fear and temptation, decides to quit, it is up to them. But that won’t halt the growth of the party in the state,” he contended. Speaking on the BJP’s Assembly poll performance, Majumdar said the party had made some mistakes in formulating its strategy, and that would be rectified in due course of time. “We have come a long way - from not having a single MLA in Assembly to winning 77 seats. We bagged 18 Lok Sabha seats under the leadership of Dilip Ghosh. In the days to come, we will fortify the party’s base even further,” the 41-year-old leader said. The BJP on Monday replaced Ghosh as its West Bengal unit president with Majumdar amid infighting and a string of defections from the party to the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress. In a statement, the party announced that Ghosh, also a Lower House MP, has been made a national vice president of the saffron camp. The change of guard came 15 months ahead of the expiry of Ghosh’s term as state BJP chief. A PhD in botany, Majumdar is known to share close ties with Ghosh and has strong links with the RSS.