BJP leader Dilip Ghosh's visit to CM Mamata's temple inauguration triggers party rift
Instead of criticising Banerjee's decision to build a Jagannath temple in Digha, BJP leaders now find themselves defending Ghosh's presence at the event, where he visited the temple with his newlywed wife Rinku Majumder and briefly exchanged pleasantries with Banerjee. 'What you have done is big work,' Ghosh told the Chief Minister.
News later emerged that the state government had officially invited Ghosh to the inauguration. However, the party was reportedly unaware of his visit. A senior TMC leader present at the temple said, 'The Chief Minister was planning to leave the temple. Suddenly, news came that Ghosh is coming. She returned to welcome him.'
BJP state president Sukanta Majumder was the first to react: 'Whether Dilip Ghosh attends or not is his personal choice. The party does not endorse it, especially when Hindus have been targeted in Murshidabad… Attending would suggest their plight is being ignored. The party collectively decided to boycott the event.'
Ghosh hit back, saying he did not need anyone's permission to visit a temple. 'Those who want to criticise will criticise. I've visited the jyotirlingas, Char Dham and other pilgrim centres. This is a huge temple near my house. We can't visit Puri all the time, so I took darshan here. Like me, crores and crores of devotees will come… Who built it or inaugurated it will be forgotten.'
Following Majumder's remarks, other BJP veterans also spoke out. Former state president Tathagata Roy said, 'Many are saying this is not political. How can one say that! I am a political leader, but I went with my wife at the invitation of my main opponent, then spent some time there secretly having various kinds of fun. Then I came and told the media, this is a courtesy! Would you believe it? Of course not, because you don't believe in fairy tales. But whoever said that? He thinks he's the only smart one in West Bengal, and everyone else is stupid!'
Swapan Dasgupta said, 'The outrage among grassroots BJP Bengal workers at this apparent betrayal by a former state president is too deafening for the national leadership to ignore.'
Unfazed, Ghosh continued his counterattack. 'Whenever I speak to the Chief Minister, it is respectful and courteous. There was no closed-door meeting. It was a courtesy meeting as I was invited for the inauguration,' he said.
'I have not done anything against party policy. Have you heard the party gave a boycott call?' he asked. 'Those teaching me about BJP, discipline and Hindutva — look at their history over the last five to ten years. What have they done for BJP, Hindutva or the country? Whatever the party asked of me, I delivered. If needed again, I will do it.'
Ghosh also indirectly questioned Adhikari's leadership. 'When I was president, BJP won 18 Lok Sabha seats and 77 assembly seats. Now we have 12 Lok Sabha MPs and only 70 MLAs. Where did the others go? Why are MPs, MLAs, Zilla Parishad members leaving the party? Why is the party declining since I left the post?' he asked.
A senior BJP leader conceded, 'What Dilip Ghosh is saying isn't wrong, but the timing is against us. For the first time in Bengal's history, after the fall of the Hasina government and attacks on Hindus, Hindu sentiment is rising. But this internal debate could hurt our momentum.'
The very next day, Ghosh faced backlash from local party workers in Kolaghat and had to retreat from a public event.
Rejecting the idea that personal ties must be sacrificed for politics, Ghosh said, 'If in my neighbourhood, a TMC leader's son is getting married, should I not attend just because he's from TMC? I don't believe in that kind of politics. Those trying to make this BJP's culture don't know the party. They don't know me or my sacrifices. Those who joined in 2021 won't understand this.'
He continued, 'Some are busy teaching RSS, some Hindutva. Don't teach me Hindutva. If you cut my veins, you'll find Hindutva and BJP's blood running through them. I don't know what runs in others, because they've come after hopping from one party to another.'
Responding to jibes such as 'Bhogi' and 'Tyagi', Ghosh said, 'Those who marry four times, keep 14 girlfriends, and live one life during the day and another at night are calling me Tyagi and Bhogi? I've always been on the ground and will continue to be. I don't have a double face.'
TMC has been quick to seize on the internal discord. Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh posted on X, 'Dilip Ghosh's roar overshadowed the roar of the sea in Digha. He washed away a section of the BJP.'
A senior BJP leader summed up the party's current challenge: 'The BJP is now searching for a new wave of Hindutva to contain this debate. Otherwise, it could ruin our chances in the 2026 assembly elections.'
Meanwhile, many BJP leaders are awaiting the reaction of Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari.
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