KOLKATA: After terming the Bengal poll results a “historic victory”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold meetings in New Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday with Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda, and the party’s national parliamentary board to decide on the chief minister for Bengal and key cabinet positions.
Chief Minister Selection Process
BJP sources said while the chief minister will be finalised at a meeting between Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and J P Nadda, the BJP top brass is also likely to take inputs from central observers and state leaders. After the chief minister is selected, the party may consider appointing a deputy CM. Sources added that Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and Suvendu Adhikari could be asked to remain in New Delhi over the next few days.
The BJP entered the Bengal poll fray without projecting a chief ministerial face, opting instead for a “collective leadership” approach. During campaign rallies, Amit Shah said the party would nominate a chief minister “born and raised in West Bengal” and educated in a Bangla-medium school. BJP leaders in the state said on Monday that the party has previously picked relatively lesser-known leaders as chief ministers in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. “The chief minister will be selected first, followed by other cabinet ministers. The discussions over candidates will start from Tuesday,” said a BJP leader. “There will be equal emphasis on veterans and new leaders who were elected. Veteran party cadres with roots in the RSS will also get prominence while considering the new cabinet,” the BJP leader said. More than 100 leaders with roots in RSS contested the polls and won.
Cabinet Formation Strategy
“The selection aligns with the national leadership’s strategy and helps manage consensus among competing factions. The list will also ensure broad representation, including SC, ST and OBC communities,” said the leader. The final list of ministers will be approved by the party’s national president.
While seniority and performance are rewarded, it will be balanced with younger and new-generation leaders. Leaders like Swapan Dasgupta, Agnimitra Paul, Nishith Pramanik, Ritesh Tiwari, Roopa Ganguly and Rudranil Ghosh are some of the prominent faces whose names are likely to be considered while the party ponders over appointment of the cabinet ministers. Veterans like Vijay Ojha, Umesh Rai and Sanjay Singh are also some of the prominent faces in the party.
Celebrations and Reactions
On Monday evening, state BJP leaders, including Bengal BJP minder Sunil Bansal, Mangal Pandey and Amit Malviya, stayed at the party office in Salt Lake to watch Modi’s address at the party headquarter in New Delhi. Celebration at the state headquarter started since the poll trends started showing an increasing gap with Trinamool early in the evening. Saffron abir floated in the air as drums and trumpets filled the air. BJP workers entered the party office with garlands and packets of jhalmuri to greet each other. Workers on the third floor of the party office took selfies with Bansal and Malviya.
Later in the afternoon, Samik Bhattacharya left for Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s residence near Kalighat.
