KOLKATA: Inner conflict in BJP’s West Bengal chapter was out in the open once again with the state president Dilip Ghosh and youth wing chief and MP from Bishnupur Lok Sabha seat Saumitra Khan going against each other.
Khan resigned from the position of the state president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and left the unit’s WhatsApp group after Ghosh dissolved all the district committees of the youth wing.
Khan, in a dramatic move, rejoined the group within hours, and in a video message, he announced his re-entry and withdrawal of his resignation.
Sources in the BJP said Ghosh dissolved the BJYM’s district committees because Khan allegedly announced the members of the units without consulting him or district-level leaders. The face-off between Ghosh and Khan surfaced a month ago when the latter announced the names of a district committee.
"After Khan left the WhatsApp group, BJP’s Bengal observer Kailash Vijayvargiya and national joint general secretary Shiv Prakash contacted Ghosh. The state president accused Khan of trying to build up a parallel unit within the party," said a senior BJP leader.
Ghosh said the youth wing’s district committees were selected without consulting him. "Besides, none of the district level leaders were consulted by Khan. In a disciplined party like BJP, it cannot be allowed," he said.
In a statement issued by Ghosh on Saturday, Ghosh said the district committee of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha stands dissolved. ‘’Due to some reasons, till any further announcements, all district presidents of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and respective district committees are being dissolved from today. Till further announcements their duties will be taken up by the respective district presidents of the party,’’ the statement reads.
Sources in the BJP said the problem started brewing up with the names of some of the district presidents which Ghosh did not approve.
Khan, who shifted his political allegiance to the BJP from the Trinamool Congress, is known as a follower of BJP’s national vice president Mukul Roy. Two months ago, he supported Roy’s discontent over Ghosh’s projection claiming the party will pick up as many as 180 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections.