Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comment that the next Chief Minister of West Bengal will be a "son of the soil” on Sunday has started hectic activity within the state BJP with lobbyists for several leaders trying to uphold their favourite as the party's Chief Ministerial candidate.
Although none of the state BJP leaders openly commented on Shah’s remark, party sources revealed that the lobbyists are jostling for position to uphold several senior leaders.
BJP sources revealed that a section of state leaders close to Bengal party president Dilip Ghosh are trying to project him as the Chief Ministerial candidate, claiming that he is a “grassroots level leader” who has risen through party ranks from a humble background.
“Not only is Dilip Ghosh a son of the soil, but he has also taken the Trinamool Congress (TMC) head on. He has provided our workers with courage to look eye to eye with the ruling party in Bengal,” said a BJP leader close to Ghosh.
However, another lobbyist close to Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta refuted the argument claiming that Shah wanted a highly educated and sophisticated leader like Dasgupta to be projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate.
A section of state BJP leaders are also keen on projecting Union Minister Babul Supriyo and former state president Rahul Sinha as the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate. While party leaders close to Supriyo argued that he has achieved success in politics despite having no political background those close to Sinha said that he led the BJP in Bengal even when the party was considered a minor force in the state.
“There is also a possibility that the central leadership may decide to have a woman Chief Ministerial candidate to counter Mamata Banerjee,” BJP sources said.
However, state BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu said that “the official discussion regarding our Chief Ministerial candidate is yet to start.”
These developments have again brought the factionalism within the Bengal BJP into focus.