The Bengal BJP on Monday drew first blood in the State Congress ranks when senior PCC leader Pradip Ghosh joined the saffron outfit after launching a massive broadside against what he said is a “moribund Congress which has gone into the hands of hooligans.”
Joining his new outfit, Ghosh, a known central Kolkata leader, said he had not joined the BJP because of any lust for post “as had I really wanted that, I would have joined the ruling party. Joining the BJP will mean a long struggle for me. I only joined this party as the Congress leadership has lost its way. The Congress has become an undemocratic party where those who raise their voices are beaten to silence.”
He said the situation in Bengal is such that “only the BJP can save the State from the despotic rule of the TMC.”Sources also said that some senior left leaders could also join the BJP. These leaders are Forward Bloc’s Udayan Guha and Hafeez Alam Sairani, former Ministers. Bloc is the second biggest constituent of the left Front after the CPI(M).
Meanwhile, the State BJP has decided to start a protest movement christened Bangal Bachao Andolan against the State Government’s ‘anti-people policies’. The movement will begin with a rally on Monday which will be joined among others by party MPs SS Ahluwalia, Babul Supriyo, party central observer for Bengal Siddharthnath Singh, and State president Rahul Sinha.
In a related development, the BJP has written to State Governor MK Narayanan to direct the State Government to hold civic elections in 17 municipalities whose terms would end by the end of June.
The saffron outfit which was confident of winning many of these seats going by the result of the lok Sabha elections wants the polls to be held on time. Incidentally the State Election Commission has also asked the State Government to hold the elections, but no response has come as yet.