Ahead of the June 8 video conference with Home Minister Amit Shah, the Bengal BJP has effected massive organizational reshuffling that saw shunting of a known “plain-speaker” senior leader Chandra Bose a scion of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
The name of Bose who was a vice president of the Bengal party unit would not appear in the new list of office bearers even as State BJP president announced the new list of functionaries even as critics said the new list makes it apparent that the party is looking for street fighters rather than ideologues to counter the Trinamool Congress in the next year’s Assembly elections.
According to the new list Barrackpore MP and a former strongman of the TMC Arjun Singh has been promoted to the post of vice president. Along with him Bankura MP Dr Subhas Sarkar, Hooghly leader Rajkamal Pathak, Ritesh Tewari, Pratap Banerjee, Raju Banerjee, and Mehfuza Khatoon too have been made the party’s State vice presidents.
Former women’s wing leader Locket Chatterjee, the current Hooghly MP has been made the General Secretary of the party along with JP Singh Mahato and others. Locket Chatterjee is replaced by fashion designer Agnimitra Paul as the State party Mahila Morcha president. Sabyasachi Dutta another TMC turncoat and close associate of senior leader Mukul Roy has been made the party’s state secretary. Vocal leader Sayantan Banerjee too have made a general secretary while party MP Soumitra Khan has been made the Yuva Morcha president.
The reshuffling takes place at a crucial time ahead of the next year’s Assembly elections which the BJP is seeing as a chance to bring about a second change in Bengal.
The reshuffling --- which further tightens the stranglehold of Ghosh in the State party --- also takes place ahead of the five-day video conference with Shah who would speak to all the party workers and office bearers from June 8 onward, sources said.
Meanwhile Ghosh on Monday made it clear that his party was switching on to the agitation mode keeping the next year’s elections in mind even as he brought new allegations against the TMC Government accusing it of large-scale housing corruption.Crores have been siphoned off in housing scam which is a big scam and the party will take up this cause soon along with other issues,” he said.