West Bengal BJP president and the party’s Medinipur candidate Dilip Ghosh speaks to Aishik Chanda on the party’s poll strategy in Bengal, dissidence over selection of candidates, ‘winnability’ of state leaders and regions where BJP is expected to do well;
Why did you choose the Medinipur seat? How are you preparing for the polls?
Being the sitting MLA from Kharagpur, I enjoy acceptance among the people of Medinipur. I’ve been at the forefront of struggles against the violence unleashed by the police and Trinamool goons. We’ve boosted our organizational muscle in the rural parts of this constituency. Party workers wanted me to contest from Medinipur and the central leadership cleared my candidature.
You are pitted against a formidable candidate in (Trinamool’s) Manas Bhuniya. The Trinamool is on a firm footing in 6 Assembly seats in the constituency, barring Kharagpur. How do you deal with that?
He might be more experienced than me, in terms of his years in politics, but he wouldn’t have lost the Ghatal (Lok Sabha) seat in 2014 if he was a strong candidate. He won the Sabang Assembly seat in 2016 (on a Congress ticket) with CPI(M)’s support before defecting to the Trinamool. However, he hasn’t been wholly embraced by Trinamool cadres and his old party is also against him. Trinamool doesn’t organizational strength in this constituency and relies heavily on the state machinery during elections. However, this time they are on the back foot as the people have turned against them
BJP workers will have to campaign for the likes of Khagen Murmu and Nisith Pramanik against whom they fought a few months back. You called on party cadres to accept the central directive. What is being done to enforce the whip by the party top brass?
We didn’t have personal issues with like Khagen Murmu and Nisith Pramanik even before they joined the BJP. However, now, we have come together with a common aim to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister again and win maximum seats (in West Bengal).
You had voiced doubts over the ‘winnability’ of state BJP leaders. Yet, several state leaders, have been nominated. Will it hurt the BJP’s prospects?
We have fielded all our popular faces and also given an opportunity to (Trinamool) defectors in places where we don’t have strong candidates. The acceptability of our leaders will grow once they contest elections.
BJP’s growth in Bengal is largely down to the inroads made by the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal. What would be their role in this election?
RSS has been here for more than 70 years, but the BJP has grown only recently due the groundwork laid by our ideological parent. RSS and VHP have made people understand that the BJP is here to bring change.
Which are the regions where the BJP expects to do well?
We are hopeful of doing well in the north Bengal seats, 5 Jangalmahal constituencies, Asansol, Asansol-Durgapur, Serampore, Hooghly, 2 Kolkata seats, 2 Nadia seats and 5 North 24 Parganas seats.