West Bengal: Eye on curbing dissent, BJP 'temporarily suspends' two rebels

KOLKATA: Bengal BJP has cracked the whip on two prominent disgruntled leaders, Jayprakash Majumdar and Ritesh Tiwari, to curb the rising dissent in the ranks before it spins out of control.
The party "temporarily suspended" Majumdar and Tiwari without waiting indefinitely for their reply to the showcause notice sent to them for "breach of party discipline".
Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar had hinted at a "prompt decision" to caution the likes of Jayprakash and Tiwari before they joined another BJP rebel meet with Union minister Santanu Thakur at the helm.
"We are expecting a very quick reply to the showcause notice. We will make a decision very soon," Majumdar had said, hours before taking the disciplinary step.
It could be a coincidence that days before Thakur's Delhi visit, loyalists of BJP state (organization) secretary Amitava Chakraborty put up posters and flex in central and north Kolkata, like rebels did a few days ago to reassert their grip on the organization.
The "temporary suspension", however, could hardly discipline the two leaders who kept up their defiance. "Transition and change are all natural to a political party. But one can't replace 80% of leaders overnight. They are forgetting that BJP's vote share has slid to 8% in the Kolkata municipal polls from more than 26% only eight months ago in the assembly polls," said Tiwari, former state BJP office-bearer.
Jayprakash is expected to announce his stand at a press meet on Tuesday. But if his words prior to the "temporary suspension" were anything to go by, then the BJP leader would question the very validity of the party disciplinary committee that took the action. "The last announced committee was headed by minister Subhas Sarkar. Normally, a central minister cannot head a disciplinary committee. I am not aware if the state president has dissolved that and formed a new committee," he had said.
A section of Bengal BJP rebels is now looking up to Thakur, who is likely to present the case of disgruntled BJP organizers to party president J P Nadda when they meet during Parliament's Budget session beginning January 31. Thakur, the Matua Sanghaguru, will till then continue with his mass contact programme in his constituency and meet BJP organizers.
Thakur's brother and BJP's Gaighata MLA Subrata Thakur didn't confirm any interaction with Nadda, now busy with the Uttar Pradesh elections, but sources close to the development hinted that the Union minister would meet the BJP president in Delhi.
Matuas will also write to Union home minister Amit Shah demanding implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act. According to sources in Delhi, Nadda had sought time till March 2022 to address the issue.