Two separate developments have left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) red-faced in West Bengal state since the announcement of its first list of candidates on Thursday for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Of the 42 constituencies in Bengal, the BJP has announced the names of its candidates from 28 seats, and the announcement has come with its own set of controversies.
Angered by his exclusion in the first list of candidates, vice-president of the state BJP Rajkamal Pathak today sent his resignation letter to the BJP state president Dilip Ghosh.
BJP insiders say that Pathak had expected that he would be fielded as the candidate either from Serampore or Hooghly. But neither the Serampore nor the Hooghly seat had the name of Rajkamal Pathak. Left out of the list of candidates selected by the party’s central leadership (following discussion with the state BJP leaders), Pathak wasted no time in resigning from the post. However, he has not quit the party, sources said.
Pathak’s resignation from the post has caused huge embarrassment to the party, and shows the kind of internal rift that exists in the BJP’s state unit.
Meanwhile, BJP workers have been protesting against the nomination of Nishith Pramanik – a former Trinamool member – as the candidate from Cooch Behar.
BJP workers took to the streets and even vandalised their own party office to protest the party’s selection. This took place from Thursday evening itself, right after the candidate list was announced. Party workers alleged that the BJP leadership in Delhi had taken bribe to nominate the expelled Trinamool Congress leader who had been thrown out of his own party on corruption charges. He joined the BJP almost immediately after he was shown the door by the Trinamool Congress, the BJP workers pointed out.
The party workers have also threatened to nominate a BJP member as an independent candidate if the nomination of Nishith Parmanik is not withdrawn immediately.
Responding to this, BJP’s top boss in Bengal, Dilip Ghosh, said that since the BJP is going through a good phase, it is but natural that a lot of people wanted to be nominated as BJP candidates for the coming elections, and hence “these things are bound to happen”, he said.
[Cover image of Nishith Pramanik]
