West Bengal BJP Gets New Chief; Dilip Ghosh Made National VP

Dr Sukanta Majumdar will be taking over the role of the state president of the party in West Bengal.

BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, formerly the state president of the party in West Bengal, has been appointed the National Vice-President of the BJP.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, formerly the state president of the party in West Bengal, has been appointed the national vice-president of the BJP.

Sukanta Majumdar, who is an MP from Balurghat, will be taking over the role of the state president of the party in West Bengal.

"BJP doesn’t run on a single leadership. In BJP, it is the team that takes a decision, not an individual. Here also we'll work as a team. We'll perform better in upcoming elections, including panchayat, municipalities and Lok Sabha," Majumdar said on Tuesday, according to news agency ANI.

The changes within the ranks of BJP Bengal comes after a series of defections from the party's state unit, with as many as four leaders leaving the party for the greener pastures of the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Meanwhile, in another change within the BJP's organisation, Baby Rani Maurya, who had resigned as the governor of Uttarakhand earlier this month, has been appointed as the national vice president of BJP, as per news agency ANI.

Freshly re-inducted Trinamool Congress leader Babul Supriyo reacted to Ghosh's new appointment with congratulations and a barb, saying the latter was in need of a grammar lesson judging by the language used for his new designation displayed on social media.

Who Is Sukanta Majumdar?

Sukanta Majumdar, who had hitherto held the position of the state-in-charge of BJP Sikkim, was appointed as the party's Bengal chief on Monday.

A first-time MP, Majumdar had formerly served as a member of the BJP's state election management team. He also serves as the party's co-convenor for the Uttar Banga Zone.

"Congratulations to Dr. Sukanta Majumdar as the new President of the Bharatiya Janata Party. I wish him success," his predecessor Dilip Ghosh tweeted upon his appointment.

"They've given such a huge responsibility to a small worker like me. Thankful to party chief JP Nadda, PM and others," Majumdar was quoted as saying by ANI post his appointment.

"BJP had fought earlier to save West Bengal and stop its Talibanisation, we'll do so in future too. We'll protect it from Talibani rule of Mamata Banerjee," he reportedly said.

Recent Spate of Defections From BJP Bengal

The shift in ranks within the BJP Bengal comes at a time when the party's state unit has witnessed a series of defections, with three MLAs and one MP leaving the party for the TMC since the latter won the state assembly elections by an overwhelming mandate in May.

Most recently, former Union Minister Babul Supriyo had left the BJP to join the TMC. Supriyo had been dropped from the cabinet when it was overhauled on 7 July, and had subsequently expressed his discontentment with the loss of the ministerial position.

Prior to Supriyo's defection, former BJP MLAs Mukul Roy, Biswajit Das, and Tanmoy Ghosh had switched over to the TMC.

(With inputs from ANI.)