KOLKATA: In a major organisational change in the West Bengal BJP unit ahead of the 2021 assembly polls, incumbent state general secretary (organisation) Subrata Chattopadhyay was removed and his deputy Amitava Chakraborty was elevated to the post by the central leadership.
A letter issued from New Delhi by national president J P Nadda stated that Chakraborty had been appointed to the position with immediate effect.
Chakraborty was joint general secretary (organisation) for the past few years.
"I'm thankful to Higher Leadership for keeping faith in me as a soldier of the party for 7 long years. I congratulate the newly appointed GS (Org) & wish him all the best," Chattopadhyay said in a tweet.
The change came as a shock to many in the state unit of the saffron party as Chattopadhyay, who had held the post for several years, was considered to be close to West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh.
When contacted, Ghosh said these are organisational decisions taken by the party, and he has nothing to comment.
The development came a day after central leaders in charge of the state stepped in and resolved differences between its state Yuva Morcha president Saumitra Khan and Ghosh, who had dissolved all the district committees of the youth wing last week.
According to BJP sources, some sections of the state unit were unhappy with the functioning of Chattopadhyay.
"It is during Subaratda's tenure as general secretary-organisation that BJP witnessed an unprecedented growth in its organisational strength in Bengal. But, there were also some complaints against him," a state BJP leader said.
Assembly elections in West Bengal are likely to be held in April-May next year.