State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has said that the BJP has not taken any decision on projecting a chief ministerial face for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections and will instead seek votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his “development agenda”.
In an interview with news agency PTI, Bhattacharya said the party does not distinguish between “organic” and “inorganic” leaders, adding that “whoever the people identify as fighters against the TMC's misrule can be the party's face after it wins the polls”.
Positioning the election as a direct contest with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress, he said the BJP would not announce a CM candidate and would instead rely on Modi’s leadership and governance plank.
“The BJP does not project anyone as the chief ministerial candidate. In Delhi and Haryana, who did the BJP project as the face? We did not. Yet we won. The same happened in Odisha. Whom did we project as the face? We did not fight those elections with any one face,” he said.
On whether Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari being fielded from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur signalled his projection as CM face, Bhattacharya said the decision would rest with the party’s central leadership.
“If, in the next few days, they decide to select someone and fight under that person, then that will be their decision. But at this moment, there is no such decision and I do not think there will be,” he said.
He added that the BJP would seek votes in Modi’s name. “We contest elections by putting forward 'vikas purush' Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- the man of development -- whom people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari trust, and by seeking votes on the basis of faith in his vision,” Bhattacharya said.
Calling Adhikari’s candidature from Bhabanipur a direct challenge to Banerjee, he said, “Anyone can understand that. It is a direct challenge.”
Referring to the 2021 Nandigram contest, he said the BJP wanted to test the TMC’s claims regarding Banerjee’s defeat. “The leader of the opposition was suspended from the assembly for a total of 11 months in the last five years. His family was attacked. His victory was called a 'load-shedding victory'. Even then we said: if you think we won in Nandigram because of load-shedding, then show your strength by taking a lead in that segment in the Lok Sabha elections. They could not take the lead there,” he said to PTI.
Outlining the party’s priorities if voted to power, Bhattacharya said, “First, establish the rule of law in the state. Second, ensure that there is no post-poll violence, because we believe that after the TMC loses power, its workers will start killing each other. We do not want that. Third, create an atmosphere suitable for investment.”
On infiltration, he said the BJP’s approach would be: “Detect, detain, deport infiltrators from West Bengal”.
He described the polls as a decisive battle not just politically but for the “existence of Bengali Hindus but also for nationalist, rational Muslims”.
Responding to allegations that the BJP seeks to impose a ‘Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan’ culture, he said, “Bengalis cannot live without fish. The party of Syama Prasad Mookerjee don't need to prove whether we are Bengalis or not.”
On concerns over poll conduct, Bhattacharya said he had faith in the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections. “It is a commitment from them (EC) that they are going to hold a free and fair, and bloodless election. Right now, a constitutional authority is being challenged in West Bengal. I think the custodians of the Constitution should intervene immediately,” he said.
Rejecting Banerjee’s allegation that the BJP wanted to impose President’s Rule, he said, “Had the BJP wanted to impose President's Rule, this government could have been removed seven years earlier itself. But we do not support that in principle. Mamata Banerjee will be defeated by the people's vote.”
Addressing Muslim voters, Bhattacharya said the BJP’s message was to “come into the mainstream of national life”, focus on education and reject appeasement politics.