New West Bengal BJP chief seeks Left supporters' help to oust Trinamool from power
In his first address after taking over the post from Sukanta Majumdar, Mr. Bhattacharya, 62, urged Opposition political parties in the State to keep their individual flags aside for the time being. 'Leave all ideologies aside and come together to remove Trinamool from power. Then you can raise your flag and find your own path again. There will be a space for Opposition,' the State BJP chief said.
However, the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who was speaking at the same event, urged the people of the State to be careful of the Left parties. 'They call themselves secular, bring out Muslims in their rallies and divide Hindu votes. In the last Lok Sabha polls, the BJP lost 12 seats in the State because of them,' Mr. Adhikari said.
Over 10% votes with Left, Congress
Though the BJP has emerged as the main Opposition party in West Bengal, it trails behind the ruling Trinamool Congress by a vote share margin of 10%. The Left Front, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Congress do not have any seats in the West Bengal Assembly, but together, these parties garnered a vote share of over 10% in the last election.
Mr. Bhattacharya said that the people of West Bengal have come to realise that the BJP can remove the Trinamool Congress from power, and that the slogan of 'SonarBengal (Golden Bengal)' can become a reality by bringing investment to the State.
'No power can ensure that Mamata Banerjee will return to power in the State for the fourth time in 2026,' Mr. Bhattacharya said. Tracing the history of the BJP in West Bengal — from the days when it was an 'irrelevant' political force with a vote share of less than 1% — the BJP leader said that the party has now become the main Opposition party in the State on its own strength.
'Muslims are killing Muslims'
The newly elected BJP president also reached out to minority communities in the State, saying, 'The BJP's fight is not against minorities. We are not against Muslims... We want to provide them with books in their hands instead of tools for migrant workers.'
Mr. Bhattacharya accused Ms. Banerjee's government of precipitating a communal divide in the State. In the political violence occurring under the Trinamool Congress regime, 'Muslims are being killed by Muslims', he said.
Uniting BJP veterans, newcomers
The outgoing BJP president of West Bengal Sukanta Majumdar, was also present at the event, where he and Mr. Adhikari vowed to work with Mr. Bhattacharya.
The new BJP president also tried to bring together veterans and new entrants in the party.
'The old-timers in the party must remember that without newcomers, the party can't grow. We can't order people from Kumartuli to create cadres for us. At the same time, the newcomers must never forget that the old guard held the flag high even when defeat was inevitable,' Mr. Bhattacharya said.
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