Within days of former Trinamool Congress founder-leader Mukul Roy joining the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), differences have surfaced within the party.
While a section of the party is publicly defending the decision to induct the political heavyweight, others have termed the move “nothing less than suicidal” ahead of a series of elections.
State president of the BJP, Dilip Ghosh, who is backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has been categorical that Mr Roy’s induction will not be a game changer for the party.
“We do not think Roy is a heavyweight leader. BJP got 11 crore votes in the last Lok Sabha election and TMC got two crore. Mukul Roy was the leader of that regional party that bagged two crore votes,” Mr. Ghosh is reported to have said.
Targeted by leaders
Ironically, the BJP had consistently targeted Mr Roy from as early as 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
In several campaign rallies, senior national leaders had said if Mr. Roy was removed, given the several allegations of corruption against him, party chief Mamata Banerjee could be exposed.
Many in the party still believe Mr. Roy has enough critical evidence against the TMC to nail the party’s top leaders before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, those opposing Mr Roy’s induction say such evidence is unlikely to swing voters away from the TMC. Among those unhappy with the decision that was largely pushed by Kailash Vijayvargiya — BJP observer in West Bengal — a senior State BJP leader said, “It is one decision that will remove the sting in the attack of the State BJP against the TMC.”
“For last three years we were consistently saying that the entire top brass of the TMC is neck deep in financial fraud and cash-on-camera types scam and Mukul Roy is the kingpin of this racket. Now, all of a sudden, we find him in our party sitting with top leaders in the Delhi headquarters, where most of us cannot reach. This is atrocious,” said the leader, affiliated to the RSS.
The party now faces the challenge of accommodating Mr Roy and his supporters in the party, creating the right space for him.
Role in party
“Many of the senior leaders, who were severely snubbed by [BJP national president] Amit Shah for under-performance during his last visit in Kolkata in September, may now feel threatened as Roy is more informed about State politics then the BJP leadership,” said another senior party leader.
A product of Congress politics, Mr. Roy’s integration into the hierarchical structure of the BJP is unlikely to be smooth.