Representative image. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the West Bengal Assembly poll in 2026, winning 207 of the 293 seats, West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya made a bold political claim. “Our doors are closed for Trinamool. There will be no ‘Trinamoolification’ of the BJP,” Mr. Bhattacharya had said. The 62-year-old leader, who had been a foot soldier of the party when its vote share was in single digits in West Bengal was among the first to use the phrase, ‘Trinamoolification of the BJP’.

He didn’t know then that on the afternoon of July 9, he would be handing out lotus-insignia party flags to three former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs at the BJP office in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area. The three MPs were Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik. They had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Trinamool Congress, and had resigned after the party suffered an electoral setback in the Assembly poll. When in the Trinamool, they had publicly criticised the BJP.

Within hours of Mr. Bhattacharya welcoming the Trinamool leaders into the BJP fold, the party announced that the former Trinamool MPs were to be renominated to the Upper House with the support of newly elected BJP legislators. Mr. Bhattacharya tried to defend opening doors for the Trinamool leaders by saying that the decision was in national interest.

“Syama Prasad Mookerjee has taught us that the party is bigger than an individual, and the nation is bigger than the party,” he said, trying hard to say that inducting the three leaders into the party was an “exception”.

The Bengal BJP president who had spoken about the party’s doors being closed for Trinamool members, is now saying that those in the Trinamool who could not raise their voices in the party are now knocking on BJP doors and the party may consider opening its doors at an opportune moment.

Feeling the heat of the Trinamoolification

A month after this incident, Mr. Bhattacharya admits that the anger among the BJP rank and file was so much that those supporters who were singing his praises during the election are putting a garland of shoes around his photograph. “Usually the garland is made of old shoes, but I saw that the shoes were all new,” the BJP leader quipped. Several BJP leaders, such as State Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta, said they found it difficult to participate in the flag handing-over event.

To many, the Trinamoolification of the BJP started even before the party won the 2026 Assembly poll. Former West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, now a prominent Minister in the West Bengal government, took a swipe at Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari by saying that it was not new for Trinamool leaders to join the BJP. “Where is it written in the BJP that people from other parties cannot join. Our Chief Minister is also a former Trinamool (leader),” Mr. Ghosh said.

Mr. Ghosh’s reference to Mr. Adhikari points to the unease in BJP’s rank and file. Mr. Adhikari, once a key Trinamool leader and Minister in Mamata Banerjee’s government, defected to the BJP in December 2020. Mr. Adhikari, who defeated Mamata Banerjee twice at Nandigram in 2021 and Bhabanipur in 2026, was chosen to lead the BJP government in West Bengal, five years after joining the party.

Good TMC vs not-so-good TMC

After the defeat in the West Bengal Assembly poll in 2026, the Trinamool Congress has been torn apart by rebellion and desertions. The majority of Lok Sabha MPs and party MLAs decided to part ways with party chairperson Mamata Banerjee.

Despite being the beneficiaries of the Trinamool Congress’s politics, these MPs and MLAs have blamed the party chairperson for favouring her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and allowing corruption and misrule to persist.

Of the 28 Lok Sabha MPs of the Trinamool Congress, 20 have merged with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), and have become a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Of the 80 MLAs of the Trinamool Congress who were elected to the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly, 65 legislators decided to support the claim of Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition, against the writ of Mamata Banerjee. One of the reasons behind the rebellion of both the MPs and MLAs of the Trinamool Congress is the opportunity to cosy up to the BJP, the party in power both at the Centre and in the State.

The BJP leadership in West Bengal, which is perceived as being soft on the rebel MPs and MLAs, has come out with a theory of “bhalo (good) Trinamool”. The Lok Sabha MPs, who have decided to join the NDA, have allegedly been told that after delimitation, when the seats increase, so will their chances of returning to Parliament in 2029.

On August 4, Chief Minister Adhikari met the NCPI MPs in Delhi. He was joined by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, who was election-in-charge of West Bengal, and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. If the photograph of Samik Bhattacharya handing over party flags to the three Rajya Sabha MPs created discomfort in the BJP’s rank and file, the Chief Minister’s photograph with the NCPI MPs was reason for heartburn.

The “good Trinamool” is the rebel camp led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee. Mr. Banerjee, who was a Communist Party of India (Marxist) nominee to Rajya Sabha, joined the Trinamool Congress in 2020 after the CPI(M) expelled him. The Trinamool Congress re-nominated him to Rajya Sabha for a second term in 2024. In 2026, he resigned from the Upper House to contest the Assembly poll from Uluberia Purba.

The rebel MLAs led by his camp are claiming to be the “original Trinamool” and have sought the party’s symbol from the Election Commission and laid claim to hundreds of crores of party funds.

After the change of regime, hundreds of local-level Trinamool Congress workers have been arrested by the police on charges of corruption, extortion, and electoral violence. Many were attacked with eggs when they were being taken into custody or being produced before courts. However, the MPs and MLAs of the “good Trinamool” have not faced police action after warming up to the BJP.

Among the handful of loyalists left by Mamata Banerjee’s side is Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh. After an under-construction warehouse collapsed in Kolkata’s Taratala area on June 24 burying 16 workers, Chief Minister Adhikari blamed it on the former Trinamool Congress regime.

Mr. Adhikari held up a document in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly with the signature of former mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation Firhad Hakim, and said no one would be spared. Ghosh dared the Chief Minister to act against Hakim to prove that the State government was serious about taking action against those responsible for the deaths. Hakim, who was one of the key Ministers during Mamata Banerjee’s regime, joined the Ritabrata Banerjee camp, and despite the Chief Minister blaming him for the tragedy, the only high-profile arrest was his former personal assistant.

The reverse ‘egg therapy’

With the majority of the Trinamool leaders now part of the “good Trinamool” camp, it is Mamata Banerjee and a handful of her loyalists who are being blamed by the BJP for they say was “misrule and corruption” over the past 15 years. The BJP government in West Bengal is yet to complete 100 days. It is already faced with something it had accused the Trinamool Congress leadership of over the past several years: extortion and political corruption.

In the past three months several businesses have alleged that BJP leaders have demanded money from them and they have had to reach out to the police seeking protection.

Sources in the BJP said that the party has suspended 22 functionaries, including several mandal presidents, over allegations of extortion and indiscipline.

Senior leaders of the BJP, including party president are warning its workers against extortion. While former State BJP president and Minister Dilip Ghosh said that many leaders are becoming addicted to this “honey of extortion”, the current State BJP chief has warned party members to mend their ways.

“The unwarranted egg therapy we see now (referring to Trinamool leaders being attacked with eggs) can turn on its head and start falling on the other side as well. Everyone, including those in my party, must understand that. Those ‘Sanatanis’ who have suddenly found a place in our party and are harbouring aspirations for influence and advantage must also remain careful because the trajectory of those eggs can change in no time,” Bhattacharya said.

It is the BJP workers in the districts who are most upset with Trinamool leaders warming up to the BJP, but only a few have mustered the courage to speak about it publicly. Nikhil Ranjan Dey, a former BJP MLA from Cooch Behar, came out in public against the nomination of the three former Trinamool Congress MPs to Rajya Sabha by his party.

“We do not know what our central leadership is thinking. They want to increase numbers in Parliament. But why will (former) Trinamool leaders be nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP? Are there not enough qualified and educated people in the BJP?” the former MLA said.

Mr. Dey said that several BJP workers have suffered at the hands of the Trinamool Congress and are still languishing behind the bars after being booked under what he claims are false charges during the Trinamool Congress regime.

In fact, former Trinamool leaders had once even allegedly called for violence against BJP members. One such example is of former Trinamool Congress MP and actor Nushrat Jahan, who represented the Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat from 2019 to 2024.

She was photographed with BJP leaders at an event to honour exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin. The photo went viral and was criticised by several right-wing online portals.

The portals highlighted how, before the election, the actor-turned-politician had been heard telling the electorate to beat up BJP leaders with bamboo sticks if they came seeking votes.

Personal versus the political

Sudip Bandyopadhay is an MP from the Kolkata North Lok Sabha seat. After parting ways with Mamata Banerjee, he is the senior-most MP of the NCPI, and is now holding meetings with the BJP leadership in the national capital.

While Mr. Bandyopadhay is meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adhikari, BJP’s Tapas Roy, now Minister of Industries and Commerce in the West Bengal government, is fuming. “I will never have anything to do with him. I hate him, because of what he did to me,” Mr. Roy said.

The Manicktala MLA left the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP in 2024. That year, he lost the Lok Sabha polls to Mr. Bandyopadhay. Mr. Roy has publicly said that Mr. Bandyopadhay was the reason he had to quit the Trinamool Congress, and join the BJP. He claims that Mr. Bandyopadhay was behind a raid at his residence when he was with the Trinamool, a charge Mr. Bandyopadhay has vehemently denied.

The only thing that is keeping the 70-year-old BJP leader happy: “It is very comforting to see the Trinamool Congress crumbling.”

shivsahay.s@thehindu.co.in

Edited by Sunalini Mathew and Amarjot Kaur

A fire broke out on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Zila Parishad office in the South 24 Parganas division near Alipore court, in Kolkata on June 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Kolkata:

A birthday meet and greet at the Leader of Opposition’s office within the West Bengal assembly has set off speculation of a possible patch-up among rivals in the state BJP.

Former West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh was at Suvendu Adhikari’s office in the assembly, and Mr Adhikari was seen offering sweets to Mr Ghosh on his birthday. Several MLAs seen to be close to Mr Adhikari were also present.

Within the party, Mr Adhikari and Mr Ghosh are said to be rivals. Bouquets were also presented to Mr Ghosh, under whose stewardship the BJP won 18 seats in the Lok Sabha in 2019. In 2024, that tally fell to 12.

After the 2021 assembly election defeat, Mr Ghosh was dropped as state president and was sidelined, according to political observers, and the party leadership was entrusted to Sukanta Majumdar, who has now become a Union Minister.

Mr Adhikari quit the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP ahead of the 2021 assembly election in West Bengal.

Mr Ghosh had been speaking out after the Lok Sabha elections and many believed his cryptic messages were targeted at Mr Adhikari.

A guarded criticism – seen as directed at Mr Adhikari – was from Mr Ghosh, who led the state party during the 2019 general election and achieved far better results.

Earlier in a post on Facebook, Mr Ghosh quoted former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, some of whose maxims are still considered gold standard by the party.

“Keep one thing in mind, even one old karyakarta (party worker) of the party should not be neglected. If necessary, let 10 new karyakartas get separated. Because the old workers are the guarantee of our victory. Trusting new karyakartas too quickly is not advisable,” the post read.

The BJP is likely to appoint a new state unit chief after the induction of Sukanta Majumdar in the Union Cabinet. Sources said the BJP has not reached a decision on Mr Majumdar’s replacement yet.

One of the speculated names is Mr Ghosh, who now seems to be on friendly terms with Mr Adhikari.

Kolkata:

The West Bengal BJP, which political analysts claim is grappling with internal discord, organisational shortcomings and resurgence of the Left-Congress alliance, takes on the daunting task of securing 35 Lok Sabha seats in the national elections, hinging on CAA implementation as its key to achieve its target.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP put up a stellar performance in West Bengal, clinching 18 seats and securing 40 per cent of the vote share. Buoyed by its success, the party has set an ambitious target of winning 35 seats in this election.

While the party heavily relies on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it also seeks to reap the benefits of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, although political analysts warn that CAA could prove to be a “double-edged sword” for the BJP.

They opine that the CAA could unite the Hindu community, but also provoke a backlash from minority groups.

The BJP’s prospects in West Bengal also rely heavily on the momentum of the Left-Congress alliance, which has been progressively gaining strength across the state’s 42 Lok Sabha constituencies.

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said the party is not only hopeful but confident that it would win 35 seats in the state.

However, a section of the BJP leaders pointed out a host of both internal and external challenges that the saffron camp faces in the state on its path to achieving its target.

“The biggest challenge for the party lies in getting its organisation, which has been in tatters since the 2021 assembly polls debacle, in order. We still don’t have people to appoint booth agents in more than 80,000 booths in the state,” former BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra said.

Hazra, who shares a strained relationship with the present state leadership, claimed that internal conflicts and a lack of grassroots-level coordination have impeded the BJP’s efforts to consolidate its position in the state as reflected in the series of electoral losses since the 2021 assembly poll defeat.

Since 2021, eight MLAs and two MPs have shifted allegiance to the TMC. Only one among them, MP Arjun Singh, has returned to the BJP.

In 2019, the BJP secured 40 per cent of the vote share. However, in the 2021 assembly polls, this dropped slightly to 38 per cent. Despite a growth from 10 per cent vote share and three assembly seats in 2016 to 77 seats in 2021, they failed to seize power.

The decline in vote share began with the Bhabanipur bypoll, where it dropped from 35 per cent in May 2021 to 22 per cent in October of the same year, and this trend has persisted.

In elections to 108 other civic bodies, the BJP only managed to garner 12.57 per cent of votes.

In last year’s panchayat polls, the party secured 22 per cent of the vote share securing the third position, just one per cent less than the Left-Congress-ISF alliance.

The resurgence of the Left-Congress alliance further complicates the BJP’s electoral strategy, posing a formidable challenge to the party.

Until 2021, the shift in votes of these parties to the BJP had contributed to the saffron party’s growth in the state.

After the 2021 assembly polls, however, the Left and Congress witnessed a revival with their alliance wresting the Sagardighi seat from the TMC in the 2023 assembly by-election.

A BJP leader said the re-emergence of the Left-Congress-ISF alliance might hinder the consolidation of anti-TMC votes in the saffron party’s favour, especially in south Bengal constituencies.

“As the Left and Congress did not fight the 2019 polls in alliance in West Bengal, we had a clear path to garner the entirety of the anti-TMC votes. However, in a three-cornered contest, these votes are likely to be divided,” remarked the senior BJP leader.

“A triangular contest could, however, also offer opportunities to the BJP in certain seats, particularly if minority votes are divided. The impact of the Left-Congress-ISF alliance was evident in minority-dominated seats, as seen in the Sagardighi bypoll,” he said.

The consolidation of anti-TMC votes led to a remarkable surge in the BJP’s vote share from 17 per cent in 2014 to 40 per cent in 2019, while its seat tally rose from two to 18.

While the TMC’s vote share increased by three per cent to reach 43 per cent, the count of its parliamentary seats declined from 34 to 22.

The BJP leaders, however, hope to capitalise on polarisation in the majority community, particularly in Matua-dominated constituencies, by leveraging CAA as a pivotal issue.

Majumdar asserted “CAA will help the BJP sweep the elections in the state”.

On the flip side, the BJP, which does not have a robust organisational strength like that of the TMC, has not been successful in countering the TMC’s campaign on the ground against the CAA that it would take away citizenship.

Making things worse, the All India Matua Mahasangha, a key organisation of the Matua community, has advised its members to apply for Indian citizenship under the new law only after the new government assumes charge at the Centre.

“The TMC is trying hard to mislead the masses on CAA, but they won’t succeed,” Majumdar said.

The BJP is also banking on the Sandeshkhali issue, where locals have accused TMC leaders of sexually abusing women in the area.

In north Bengal, a strong base for the BJP which had won seven of the eight seats in the region in 2019, there is growing dissatisfaction over the distribution of tickets.

Political scientist Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury said that the impact of implementing the CAA is still unclear.

“BJP could either benefit from the CAA or it could backfire,” he said.

Political analyst Subhomoy Maitra said the BJP’s electoral performance depends on how the Left-Congress alliance performs.

“The alliance’s potential to cut into anti-TMC votes in the state holds the key to BJP’s success,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Senior BJP leader from West Bengal, Dilip Ghosh, on Sunday said that India will be renamed as Bharat and statues of foreigners in Kolkata will be removed.

The Medinipur MP said that those against the change of name can leave the country.

Speaking at ‘Chai pe Charcha’ programme in Kharagpur city, which falls under his constituency, the former BJP national vice president said, “When our party comes to power in West Bengal, we will remove all statues of foreigners in Kolkata.” “India will be renamed as Bharat. Those not liking it are free to leave the country,” he said.

Rahul Sinha, another senior BJP leader from the state, said a country cannot have two names and this is the correct time to change the name as world leaders are present in New Delhi to attend the G20 summit.

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Santanu Sen alleged that the BJP was trying to “divert attention from real issues as it is afraid of the opposition INDIA alliance”.

Opposition parties led by Congress have formed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to take on the BJP in Lok Sabha polls due next year.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)