Kolkata: After putting up an amazing performance in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, the BJP unit in West Bengal is hoping for a few ministerial berths in the NDA-II cabinet, which is likely to be formed on May 30.
The BJP, which hardly had any presence in the state till a few years ago, won 18 seats out of 42 in the state and it also got around 40% vote share.
This is the best show by the party in Bengal and the party unit expects some rewards for this when the cabinet is formed.
Sources said the party unit in the state believes that if proper representation is given to Bengal in the Union cabinet that will help the party win the coming state assembly elections in 2021.
Sources claimed that several BJP MPs from Bengal are vying for a berth in the NDA-II cabinet.
Dilip Ghosh, who bagged the Midnapore seat, is a strong contender for a ministerial berth. Another MP who is eyeing a place in the Cabinet is Union minister and Asansol’s sitting MP Babul Supriyo.
Sources said as Supriyo already holds a portfolio he will be given a berth in this ministry also. Dilip Ghosh's contribution to the BJP win in the state is immense and he is likely to be included in the Cabinet.
Moreover, state BJP's women wing president Locket Chatterjee, who was elected from Hooghly constituency, may also be rewarded. She is a celebrity and if included that will give some glamour to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministry. She is a popular face from Tollywood and chances are high that she will be given a chance.
However, she told mediapersons that “I am overwhelmed by the trust that people have shown me. Be as a minister or just an MP from Hooghly I will be by the side of the people. The people of Singur had suffered a lot and neither the former Left Front government nor the present Trinamool Congress government has done anything for the poor farmers. My aim is to uplift their status and the rest will be decided by the central leaders.”
John Barla from Alipurduar, Khagen Murmu from Malda North, Subhas Sarkar from Bankura and Shantanu Thakur from Bongaon are the other contenders on the list for ministerial berths.
In the 2014 LS elections, the BJP had won only two seats from the state – Darjeeling and Asansol.
Target 2021
Even though the party has put up an excellent show in LS polls, the BJP's
target is 2021 assembly elections. The party is in a tight contest with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and the saffron surge in the LS polls has emboldened the BJP to take on the 'Didi'.
According to sources, the BJP is now planning to bring in a lot of developmental works to the state with the help of Central government so that it can ensure victory in the assembly polls.
BJP’s national general secretary and Bengal observer Kailash Vijayvargiya had stated that it was a vote against Mamata Banerjee’s appeasement politics and misrule.
“This is the penultimate step, the final step will be formation of BJP government in Bengal by 2021 and also to restore democracy in the state,” he said.
