In the eye of a storm for making derogatory remarks directed at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which was censured both by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and his party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dilip Ghosh remains unfazed.
Mr. Ghosh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from the Bardhaman Durgapur Lok Sabha seat, on Tuesday said that he had taken on the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
“I am the one who has fought against Trinamool, who else in West Bengal has done so? The others have only joined me in fighting the Trinamool,” the former West Bengal BJP president said.
The remarks assume significance as many in the BJP feel that Dilip Ghosh has been sidelined. During the distribution of tickets for the Lok Sabha election, Mr. Ghosh was offered the Bardhaman Durgapur constituency, instead of Medinipur, where he had won in 2019.
Mr. Ghosh was the president of the West Bengal unit of BJP from 2015 to 2021, and it was under his tenure as West Bengal BJP president that the saffron party won 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats. In the 2021 Assembly election, the BJP lost to the Trinamool Congress but bagged 77 seats in the State Assembly.
The West Bengal BJP is at present headed by Sukanta Majumdar, the MP from Balurghat who entered into active politics in 2019. The Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP in December 2020 and has emerged as one of the most important voices of the party in the State.
Not only BJP leaders but representatives from the Trinamool Congress said that Mr. Ghosh was being sidelined. “We express our sympathy to Dilip Ghosh. Why was his seat changed from Medinipur to Bardhaman Durgapur? We advise him to leave the party and return to the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh),” Trinamool Congress leader Debangshu Bhattacharya said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ghosh continued to target the TMC despite being cautioned by the ECI.
Commenting on the recent tornado in Jalpaiguri, which claimed five lives and left thousands affected, the Bengal BJP said that the Trinamool Congress loved natural disasters so that its leaders could siphon relief and rehabilitation funds. The remarks triggered strong reactions from political circles here.
Expressing regret over his remarks directed at Ms. Banerjee, Mr. Ghosh said such things kept happening. “I have said earlier too that I will be careful with my language. Before this, Mamata Banerjee was also banned [from campaigning]. This keeps happening,” he had said.
While many in political circles here believe that Mr. Ghosh made such remarks to grab the media spotlight, others feel that the remarks are sometimes meant to embarrass the BJP.
