NEW DELHI: After a decade, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed an “Election In-Charge” for its Bengal unit ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav will lead the party’s election operations in the state, with former Tripura Chief Minister and MP Biplab Kumar Deb as his deputy.
Yadav was chosen for the role owing to his extensive experience in managing elections and his close association with Home Minister Amit Shah, who is relying on him to strengthen the BJP’s prospects and “bloom the lotus” in Bengal.
The move is significant as the BJP had not formally appointed a senior leader to this post since the 2015 Assembly polls. In 2021, despite strong prospects, the party contested without an official election in-charge. Instead, Shiv Prakash functioned as organizational observer and Kailash Vijayvargiya as political observer, with Bhupendra Yadav and Dharmendra Pradhan providing additional support.
Currently, senior leaders Sunil Bansal and Mangal Pandey are already supervising organizational and political affairs in Bengal, but the new arrangement gives Yadav full responsibility, supported by Deb, to coordinate with both state leaders and the central leadership until the elections.
Previously, Arun Jaitley was appointed “Election In-Charge” for the Bengal Assembly elections in 2006 and 2011. Subsequently, Nirmala Sitharaman was given this responsibility in 2016, but the outcome is well known. However, after appointing an Election In-Charge for the 2026 Assembly elections, questions have arisen as to why this has been done after 10 years.
Umesh Rai, BJP state Secretary, told the publication that the responsibility of overseeing the elections has been placed in the “right” hands. He added that Bhupendra Yadav has previously worked in elections in this state, so he understands the electoral strategy here and will conduct his fieldwork accordingly. Apart from him, Biplab Deb, former CM of Tripura, will also play a crucial role as a large number of Bengali-speaking people reside in Tripura, giving Deb considerable understanding of how to engage with Bengal.
A political analyst told The Sunday Guardian that Bhupendra Yadav and Biplab Deb are not new to Bengal politics, and their role will largely be to improve coordination between the state, Delhi, and the central government. With Bhupendra as a full-time minister, this coordination is expected to be smoother, reducing the need for central intervention. Both are trusted BJP strategists: Bhupendra having managed elections in Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, while Biplab has experience as in-charge in Haryana and Delhi. Their proven track records are why the central leadership has handed them the Bengal assignment.
On the other hand, the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal has criticized this appointment. TMC said BJP has rewarded Biplab Deb for unleashing violence on the people of Bengal during his stint as Tripura CM. A Trinamool Congress X handle mocked Biplab Deb as “Big-Flop Deb,” with spokesperson Kunal Ghosh saying the BJP leader, removed midway as Tripura CM, was now sent to handle Bengal despite failing in his own state.
While state BJP leaders stayed silent, the Bhupendra-Biplab duo faces the bigger challenge of tackling deep factionalism within the Bengal BJP. How they manage this rivalry will decide if the party can rise to power in the upcoming Assembly elections.
