BJP tries to keep its Bengal flock together as Mukul exit triggers rumours of more defections

NEW DELHI: In West Bengal, the season for reverse migration of political leaders to Trinamool Congress from BJP was setting in, from May 3, a day after Mamata Banerjee won her third term with a thumping majority.
With appeals through letters, Facebook posts, voices on mainstream and social media growing in the saffron camp -- essentially of those who had switched from TMC to BJP before the polls – to return to TMC, BJP national vice president Mukul Roy’s return to his home turf on Friday, boosted the morale of many such aspirants. The voices grew louder on Saturday as many had followed Roy who joined BJP in 2017, to the saffron party and now wants to follow him back to TMC.
Alarm bells had started ringing in the BJP camp. Apprehending that keeping its newly acquired flock of MLAs intact would not be easy in a state where political polarisation is at its peak and BJP’s gains greatly lie on borrowed strength (from TMC), the central party leaders and the state unit has decided to address every issue to protect them.
When home minister Amit Shah has met with the state’s leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari along with other party MLAs and MPs on Tuesday (June 8), he asked the state leaders to form a core group among themselves who would be in regular touch with central BJP general secretary B L Santhosh on all issues that come up henceforth. The core group members were told to be in charge of five MLAs each, and address every concern they have on a day to day basis, according to party sources. Shah is also learnt to have asked them to report on all those people in the BJP camp who are keeping in touch with TMC leaders.
Shah also promised to visit Bengal sometime soon as a confidence building measure for party workers, on a request from the BJP legislators during Tuesday’s meeting. BJP central leaders who had been frequenting the state before the polls have returned to their posts leaving the local party workers to fend for themselves in the state.
The BJP leaders who met Shah also expressed the need for upgrading their security cover in the state as they said they felt threatened by the ruling regime.
It is learnt that one of the suggestions the Bengal BJP leaders made to Shah was also to keep the Mamata Banerjee government under pressure, including on TMC leader and Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who is now in charge of running the party.