‘If Suvendu Adhikari beats Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram, he will be a big contender for the CM post’.
New Delhi: With the fifth phase of elections over in Bengal and three more phases to go, the search for a probable Chief Ministerial candidate for the BJP has intensified in Bengal, with at least seven names from the BJP who have the potential to be the CM for Bengal doing the rounds in the political circles in Bengal.
Some of the probable Chief Ministerial candidates for the BJP include former aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and one of the most popular leaders of Bengal BJP, Suvendu Adhikari, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, national vice president of the BJP, Mukul Roy, Hooghly Lok Sabha MP and state general secretary Locket Chatterjee, Union Minister Babul Supriyo, Bankura MP Shubash Sarkar, state general secretary (organisation) Amitava Chakraborty and Union minister Debashree Chaudhuri.
Sources in the BJP say that Suvendu Adhikari, Dilip Ghosh, Amitava Chakraborty and Shubash Sarkar are some of the frontrunners for the CM candidate for the BJP in Bengal. Sources also say that if Suvendu Adhikari is able to defeat Mamata Banerjee from the Nandigram seat in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district, he would definitely turn out to be the biggest contender for the Chief Ministerial post for the BJP in Bengal.
Dilip Ghosh has led the party in the state for the last six years and many top senior leaders of the party consider the rise of the BJP in Bengal under his leadership and think of Ghosh as a potential CM face for the party in Bengal if the BJP wins the state.
BJP leaders say that the Central leadership of the party has given much credit to Dilip Ghosh for the rise of the BJP in Bengal and has entrusted him in winning the state for the party. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also on multiple occasions and in public forum praised Ghosh for the work he has done for the party in Bengal.
State General Secretary (organisation) Amitava Chakraborty and Shubash Sarkar are also being considered very seriously for the CM post for the BJP in Bengal owing to their roots in the RSS. Amitava Chakraborty was appointed as the State General Secretary (organisation) last year and he is considered to be close to the Central leadership.
Shubash Sarkar, who is BJP’s MP from Bankura, is another strong contender for the CM’s post due to his strong connection with the RSS. Many in the BJP have praised Sarkar for being calm and being able to work phenomenally under pressure. He is also considered to be close to the RSS dispensation since before joining active politics, Sarkar worked full-time with the RSS.
Senior BJP leaders who this correspondent spoke to said that the top leadership of the BJP would most likely choose a candidate to be fit for the post of CM who has a background from the RSS as well as who has been active in the party. The reasons for this, the leader said, was because that RSS inculcates discipline into individuals and that he would be able to balance between politics and discipline in the administration and in the party. It is also pertinent to remember that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also a full-time RSS worker before he was chosen to be the CM for Gujarat and both Prime Minister Modi as well as the top leadership of the party believe in discipline and organisational ability of people having a background of the RSS. It is also pertinent to mention here that even Suvendu Adhikari who was earlier with the TMC had said that even he has had an RSS background and during his early school days, he even attended the RSS shakha which used to be conducted near his house in Purba Medinipur district’s Kanthi.