Days after taking charge as the new West Bengal BJP president, Samik Bhattacharya, Rajya Sabha MP, has sought to reach out to Muslims and a Left section, done a balancing act between different factions in the state party unit, and invoked the deities of Bengal. A BJP old-timer with an RSS background, Bhattacharya, 61, has his task cut out in the run-up to the state Assembly polls slated early next year, when the party would again take on the incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by three-term Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In an interview with The Indian Express, Bhattacharya speaks on multiple issues, ranging from the prevailing situation in the state to the BJP’s roadmap for the 2026 polls. Excerpts:
The plan is simple. Wherever we could not dent them (TMC), we will have to, and wherever there are misunderstandings and communication gaps within us, we will have to fix them. People have made up their mind to get rid of the current situation in Bengal under any circumstances. And West Bengal will remain West Bengal and not become West Bangladesh.
From the RSS to becoming a BJP worker and now elevated to the state party chief’s position – how do you look at your journey?
Politics is not a highway like the golden quadrilateral. A political worker is always a political worker, be it inside or outside Assembly or Parliament, be it the state party president or a primary worker. A worker is only focused on bringing the party to power and executing its ideology. The path is a straight line, but the journey varies. My rise and fall is linked with the rise and fall of the party.
After putting up a good show in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP failed to oust the TMC from power in the 2021 Assembly polls, going on to lose several bypolls thereafter. Could you spell out five reasons for it?
I cannot tell you the reasons like that. Every election is different. We made some mistakes, there is no denying it. From every election, the party takes a lesson. From that elections too (2021 polls), we have learnt a lesson – we had some drawbacks. We had detailed discussions over it, but I cannot reveal it. Regarding the Bengal bypoll results, the less said, the better. We could not make people “bhoy mukto” (fearless). However, the manner in which we are now moving forward after a detailed homework and discussions with central leadership, we believe it is possible to oust TMC from power.
There are 78,000 booths in Bengal, half of which do not have an active committee of the BJP. How will you deal with it?
It is true that we do not have visible active members in all booths. It is also true that our workers are facing threats and terror at the grassroots level. But you will see when the time comes (before the polls) they will be visible and active.
If the BJP comes to power in Bengal next year, what would be the five things your government would do?
First, we have to restore democracy. In Bengal, the Opposition parties have no right to protest or speak up. We have to restore law and order. We have to ensure after we come to power that no one’s party offices are captured or ransacked. In the Assembly, Opposition parties would be able to voice their opinions. No policeman would knock on the doors of the Opposition leaders to terrorise them.
We will have to create an industry-friendly and investment atmosphere in the state. We have asked industrialists – please wait for a year, invest in Bengal, your contribution to Bengal is indisputable, take part in its progress.
We have to ensure that merit, labour and capital do not join an exodus. We would aim to ensure a roof on the heads of all residents of the state.
Are you reaching out to Muslims? Would the BJP be able to win the state without the Muslim vote?
A party aims to be all-encompassing and inclusive. It is a fact that we do not have a base among Muslims in Bengal. A large number of Muslims did not vote for us. However, in some Muslim-dominated panchayats, we have won. There are such panchayats in Birbhum and Murshidabad. If we could do that, then we are asking Muslims to think – you do not have to give vote to us, our fight is not against you but against your poverty; keeping aside “khariji (unrecognised) madrasas”, let your children read Science and English, some are trying their best. If change has to come, then it is not possible through individual efforts, but through social reform. Come forward and think how Muslims in Gujarat, Maharashtra are doing. In the last three years 90% of fatalities in political violence (in Bengal) are Muslims. Muslims are killing Muslims. This picture is absent in any other state of India, be it Gujarat or Uttar Pradesh. For how long will you listen to stories of mandir and masjid. That’s an old story.
What is your message to other Opposition parties like the CPI(M) and the Congress?
India is a multi-party democracy, a country of pluralism. Here all parties will speak. There is no problem in that. But it is essential to restore democracy in this state. For that, it is essential to oust Trinamool from power. We promise that after winning the 2026 Assembly polls, those CPI(M) offices which have been grabbed under the TMC rule will be returned to them. Panchayat members of CPI(M) and Congress would be able to fight against BJP without fear or coercion. Police would not be sent to their homes.
What is your opinion about the ongoing “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of the electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission (EC) in Bihar, which Mamata has called “more dangerous than NRC”?
TMC’s agenda is to put the names of Bangladeshis, Rohingyas and infiltrators on the voters’ list. To provide tacit support to them to procure fake Aadhaar, PAN and voter cards. The EC’s agenda is to make a voters’ list minus fake voters. Naturally this goes against the interest of TMC.
On the issue of infiltrators, the CM (Mamata) once threw papers at the Speaker (Lok Sabha) and came out with tears in her eyes. That same person is now saying there is nothing called infiltration and people from both side of the border are the same.
The CM should visit there (Bangladesh) on a personal capacity. Indian government will give her permission. The manner in which Hindu temples are being attacked and ransacked in Bangladesh, forcible religious conversions are taking place there, the manner in which a library named after Indira Gandhi was gutted. She (Mamata) has a picture of Indira at her home.
We are against the politics of Congress and Indira Gandhi, but Mrs Gandhi was our country’s Prime Minister and a women leader. She is the founder of Bangladesh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee called her Devi Durga during the Bangladesh war. Today, her effigy is being desecrated. Seventy thousands books have been burned in Bangladesh. Books of Joy Goswami, Abul Bashar and Sunil Ganguly’s books have been burnt. Can Mamata Banerjee go there and protest?
So our fight is against this radicalisation. Out fight is not against Muslims but their poverty, against those who are teaching them to choose the wrong path. This has happened because of TMC politicspo
Several migrant labourers from Bengal detained in different states have been pushed into Bangladesh. What is your response?
This is incorrect that it is happening more in BJP-ruled states. It is happening more in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Why this is happening? There are two reasons. Everyone is gravely concerned about the internal security in their own states.
West Bengal was safe passage (for terrorists), now it has become a safe home. There were no major incidents or bomb blasts here since terrorists used it as a passage and did not want to disturb it. As other states know about the infiltration situation in Bengal, they are raiding Bengali migrants. In Tamil Nadu, it is an anti-BJP government. Now in their raids they are finding some Bangladeshis with fake ID cards made from Barasat or Siliguri, so they are saying they do not want to keep any Bengalis there. It is then that anyone speaking in Bengali becomes a Bangladeshi. Who is responsible for this situation. That is why there is a need for NRC in Bengal. Those who are Indian Muslims, open-minded Muslims, those who do not say they will capture the country through their sheer numbers, we don’t have any fight against them.
Do you think you would be able to unify various state BJP factions?
I will not do it – the party ideology will carry all of them together ahead. There are some aberrations in some areas, but that cannot be considered as the entire party. In the next 15 days a unified BJP will be seen.
How do you respond to the perception about the state BJP’s apparent shift from Lord Ram to Maa Kali now?
In the wake of recent events in our state and Bangladesh, Maa Kali is most relevant. It is a system in our party where we all visit different states. Whenever some party leaders or workers come to Kolkata from outside, they want to visit Kalighat.
But Maa Kali is not safe in Bengal where idols and temples are being vandalised. Temples in Bangladesh are being vandalised. One should worship “Shakti”, which symbolises Maa Kali, to prevent radicalisation. No stone should be left unturned to prevent West Bengal from becoming West Bangladesh or an Islamic republic.
Jai Shri Ram is a slogan of protest. Shri means prosperity, Ram means values. The movement for Ram Mandir (Ayodhya) was not a religious movement. It was a movement for removing an injury inflicted by an invader. Whatever has happened (the construction of the Ram Temple) took place after the court’s order.
When the CM (Mamata) targeted Jai Shri Ram, it was established as a mass slogan. Then TMC used it for religious polarisation, saying if BJP comes they will demolish all mosques. We are saying we are not for demolishing anything. It was a movement then, where we pressed for Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura. One cannot imagine Bharat without Ram. Ram is Bharat, Bharat is Ram.
Some argue that you were picked to lead the party into the 2026 polls as it has now bet on the “Vajpayee model” to win Bengal.
Once Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji said that he is a product of the party. Narendra Modi is also a product of BJP. In our party models do not exist. We all have specific responsibility in the party and we are discharging that.
