Amid controversies, the party leadership distanced itself from some incidents, questions were also raised on the rapid expansion of the organization.
Kolkata. It has been almost four months since the Subhendu Adhikari-led BJP government came to power in West Bengal, but in this initial phase itself, the government and the party are facing many controversies. Along with the opposition, questions are being raised about the working style of the organization and the government within the party and in the circles associated with the Sangh Parivar.
Controversy from Jadavpur University to newspaper office
According to reports, following the dispute between RSS-affiliated student organization ABVP and leftist student organizations at Jadavpur University, BJP MLA Sharbari Mukherjee demanded renaming the university after Sri Aurobindo. BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya clarified that this is not the official agenda of the party and termed the MLA's opinion as personal.
Meanwhile, the incident of demonstration by alleged BJP supporters outside the office of a major newspaper in Kolkata and painting a part of the building with saffron color also remained in controversy. Samik Bhattacharya distanced BJP and the government from this incident and said that the party had no role in it.
RSS related publications warned the organization
Amidst these incidents, RSS-affiliated Bengali weekly 'Swastika' expressed concern over the rapid expansion of BJP and the entry of new people into the party. The article raised questions on the entry of such people into the party, who do not have adequate knowledge of the working style and ideology of BJP and RSS.
The article warned that if Bengal voters began to see the BJP copying the political culture they had rejected in the elections, the party's public support could decline rapidly. In this context, it was said in the article that if only 2 percent of the voters felt this way, then 90 percent of the voters could move away from BJP. This is not the data of any election survey, but a political warning expressed in a publication related to the Sangh.
Challenges facing the organization due to rapid expansion
On the condition of anonymity, a senior BJP leader also described the rapid expansion of the party as a challenge for the organization. According to him, many new people are joining the party and some of them are not aware of the working of BJP and RSS. The leader expressed apprehension that some new members may try to repeat the earlier political culture.
At the same time, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty and TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh targeted BJP over these controversies. Both the leaders, in separate statements, raised questions on the explanation of the party leadership.