Thread by @sarkar_swati

The Surajit Saha episode is revealing about 1) politics in Howrah 2) RSS 3) WB media. A thread:

First, some background for those not following the nitty-gritties of WB politics. Surajit Saha is the district president of Howrah BJP. Rathin Chakraborti is the son of Bhola Chakraborti, renowned doctor in Howrah &may be all of WB.Rathin, a doctor himself &former Mayor of Howrah

Rathin Chakraborti has a name recognition of his own in Howrah. He may not be financially clean himself, but no Mayor in WB is. He is not unusually corrupt. He moved to BJP before VS 21 contested VS polls from Howrah & lost.

Surajit Saha’s name was not known anywhere until the controversy he created yesterday. In other words, sample an average resident of Howrah, he would know who Rathin Chakraborti is, he would draw a blank about Surajit Saha until yesterday. Typical of legacy BJP leaders everywhere

Rathin Chakrabarti did not leave BJP after he and BJP lost. For Howrah Corporation election, Suvendu formed a committee headed by him and in it Surajit Saha was made the deputy head (that is, not excluded). Unclear if Rathin would himself contest. Still Surajit Saha erupted.

On Tuesday there was a meeting about the Howrah Corporation elections attended by Sukanta, Dilip, Suvendu and Howrah district BJP leadership. No one knows what transpired in the meeting except what Surajit Saha said in public and partly released.

In the meeting Suvendu apparently asked how BJP would win Howrah Corporation if the leadership is busy slinging mud at each other and said that he knows that some leaders are hand in glove with TMC minister from Howrah, Arup Ray & are on his payroll.

Surajit Saha went public next day. Said he is doing BJP for 28 years, he won’t accept the leadership of Suvendu who joined BJP only 6 months back, he doesn’t want his certificate, Suvendu is himself corrupt (Narada) & needs to apologize. Media went to town with his statement.

WB BJP acted quickly. In an hour, Surajit Saha was expelled by Sukanta Majumdar. Subsequently all day Surajit Saha created a media spectacle airing his grievance in exclusive interviews in every conceivable TV media, including ABP’s Sange Suman.

Surajit Saha kept repeating that BJP will understand what he was the day Suvendu returns to TMC. These are the developments till now. Now, what all these reveal about politics of Howrah, RSS (Surajit Saha is a long time Sanghi) and WB media.

First, anyone who knows anything about Howrah knows that promoter-menace & corruption is rampant. Illegal constructions are galore. Environment has been ruined. All our local ponds have been filled, leaving small parts for show, and converted to multi-storeyed buildings.

This corruption would not have been possible without a nexus involving politicians and promoters. Promoters would have to be massively bribing politicians of all parties, mostly TMC, but also BJP. This bribery creates an ecosystem of coexistence of TMC & BJP.

The promoter-politician nexus would mean that the leaders on the payroll of promoters from both parties won’t want to upset the Apple cart and want a regime change. BJP leaders would find it more lucrative to function under TMC & retain their cut.

TMC is bound to continue in government for 5 more years and have influential local leaders in Howrah. TMC MLA Arup Ray, is minister. BJP leaders may well find it profitable to collude with Arup Ray, be on his payroll & maintain their cosy arrangement. Why bother to try to win?

This is the cosy collusive arrangement Suvendu alluded 2 if he indeed said what Surajit Saha reported. Actually, BJP leaders in Howrah are themselves wealthy promoters. Long time BJP leader & likely Sanghi, Sanjay Singh, is himself a big promoter. He contested & lost VS 21 too.

There is no way that Sanjay Singh will be able to continue his promoter business without patronage of the ruling party, Arup Ray, in particular. Surajit Saha who is creating this ruckus explicitly said that he had no problem working under Sanjay Singh & mentioned a few others.

Suvendu wants to win, if not Corporation this time, but as many seats as possible. Urge to win has been his defining characteristic. Petty corruption does not bother him as long as this isn’t coming in the way of win. But the latter is exactly what’s happening in Howrah.

The cosy collusive arrangement between Arup Ray&the Howrah leadership of BJP (most of whom would be from RSS),is coming in the way of BJP putting its best foot forward. This is what Suvendu would be furious about.Attempt 2 disrupt this cosy arrangement is threatening local ldrshp

Suvendu knows TMC inside out. He would most certainly know the specifics of this collusive arrangement between Arup Ray and local Howrah BJP leadership. He won’t compromise about election efficacy. He is a huge threat for the legacy leadership, their business & lifestyle.

This threat prompted the outburst of Surajit Saha. Most certainly he was put up by others in BJP and TMC, both in Howrah and outside who are parts of this collusive arrangement and who want to see Suvendu fail and preferably return to TMC.

Going by online response,BJP’s supporters like Suvendu,except the hard core Sanghis.They see in him whats there 4 every1 2 see. Dynamic, mass support, brilliant orator, ideologically Hindu,wants 2 win,taking on TMC most stringently in all BJP.They don’t think he will return 2 TMC

Its a different story for hardcore RSS leaders and their groupies. Most of them are paranoid about outsiders. They measure their worth in the number of years they have served in BJP-RSS, or even number of generations in RSS. Not what they did in those years.

Look at Surajit Saha for example. Boasting that he has served in BJP for 28 years. What did he do in all those years ? Became only a councilor. But still he won’t work under Suvendu or Rathin because they joined TMC 6 months back! Though both accomplished way more than him!

Again, Rathin has an independent name recognition in Howrah, former Mayor, doctor, son of a man who everyone in Howrah knows. But councilor Surajit Saha won’t work under him only because he has been in BJP for 28 years, Rathin for 6 months.

Surajit Saha’s stature doesn’t even compare with Suvendu’s in Bengal. But again since he has been in BJP for 28 years, Suvendu for about a year, Shah would not deign to consider Suvendu as his leader.

Yet, Surajit Saha has no problem accepting Dilip Ghosh or Sukanta Majumdar as his party President though Dilip Ghosh has been in BJP since 2014 & Sukanta started in BJP a bit later. Surajit has been in BJP for 28 years.

So, its not about seniority in BJP that is apparently worrying Saha, but it is the RSS legacy. In other words, in a Sanghi world view no one is fit to lead a Sanghi other than a Sanghi. Everyone else is inferior. This is Sanghi cultism.

In Sanghi worldview, non-Sanghis are good enough only to vote for Sanghis but not to lead Sanghis. This cultism is unacceptable for a political party that is asking for public support. Political parties need to be open, do whatever u want in ur precious RSS, not public business

BJP is asking for votes from common people.Why should common people care about seniority in BJP?They care only about quality of leadership. Any event looking at how Bangladesh lobby dominates BJP, RSS, Cong, TMC,not much 2 choose between parties, difference is in specific leaders

Seniority in BJP is even likely to be a ruse, a talking point. The real issue is Saha et al want 2 protect the cosy collusive arrangement between promoters&politicians across parties,leading 2 unhealthy nexus between BJP & TMC at local level.This is what change of guard threatens

Sanghis are known 2 be paranoid and operate through sabotage and stealth. Rather than expelling any one who join WB BJP, their modus has been to tire them out by casting aspersions and constantly blocking their operations so that they leave out of their own volition.

This is exactly how Sanghis forced Mukul Roy 2 leave. Mukul joined BJP 4m TMC in good faith.He didn’t have a mass appeal but was an expert in booth level mgt. Dilip Ji constantly blocked his operation. He couldn’t even get an office in BJP’s main office sans Delhi’s intervention.

Mukul had a role in BJP’s rich haul in 2019 LS. Rather than relying on a wave for 2021 VS,he wanted to build a booth level org post 2019. But Dilip Ghosh would have none of that.He said that saying BJP doesn’t have booth level org will demoralize cadres.Centre sided with Dilip Ji

Mukul didn’t get any reward post 2019, was not allowed to do what he was good in, booth level org. Frustrated, he decided to explore return to TMC. He resumed contact with TMC 6 months or so before VS 21. RSS reported that to BJP HQ & they isolated him further.He left post VS 21

Mukul eventually left to secure his worthless son’s future, but he was pushed to that by Dilip Ji’s active hostility & center’s indifference. The departure was a career suicide for him as TMC has “garaged” him, ie, has retained him in the org sans any responsibility.

Dilip Ji also had an enormous animus against Babul, another non-Sanghi recruit & created a hostile work environment for him. That said, Babul left only because he lost his ministerial berth & had no appetite for persevering through ground level politics in Asansol.

But a hostile work environ in state politics was definitely created for Babul by Dilip Ji and his RSS faction. Babul has also been garaged by TMC thus far. While Dilip Ji is making merry in WB BJP.

TMC, Dilip Ji and his Sanghi faction (need not be all of RSS in WB) are exploiting Babul’s defection and the other returns to TMC to cast aspersions on those in BJP who have come from other parties. Rumor monger that they are returning so that they won’t be trusted.

Blame everything wrong in BJP on those who joined from outside. Truth: WB BJP had so few candidates of their own with any local name recognition that central BJP was forced to look outside. See how the original BJP candidates crashed in bypolls!

Dilip Ji groupies have recently been posting news reports of a year back that Mihir Goswami had joined BJP to correlate the event with BJP’s downfall. Shameful Sanghi propaganda! What did Mihir Goswami do?Win his seat by a landslide,campaign hard for the lost cause in Dinhata etc

Exactly the same game of suspicion is being played on Suvendu by both TMC & a RSS faction. Amazing how the two are united in their goals. Soumen Mohapatra, Firhad Hakim of TMC are assuring that Suvendu would return, so is Sanghi+legacy BJP Surajit Saha!

There is no earthly reason that Suvendu would return to being a choti chata. He just defeated the supremo herself. His popularity in WB is second to Mamata’s & he has just started in BJP. He is taking an ideological Hindu line. He will be a mad man to return to TMC.

Watch the hard core Sanghi propaganda online.They rarely offer any rationale 4 their conspiracy theories.Nothing 2 support that Suvendu will return 2TMC.Only supporting evidence 1 of them offered is that his father & brother are in TMC. How many BJP leaders have brothers in Cong?

When Tathagata Roy was WB BJP President, his brother Saugata Roy was in TMC. Ravi Shankar Prasad’s brother in law is in Cong. Vasundhara Raja’s nephew used to be in Cong. Vijay Raje’s son used to be in Cong. Did they all leave BJP?

The suspicion&proxy attacks are Sanghi game of cloak&dagger being played yet again. With ample help 4m TMC.Sanghis have no pressing urge to win WB,when they can deal with TMC&live their easy lives.This is what we see in KVS+Dilip Ji (as per Tathagata) & minions like Surajit Saha

Suvendu wud be a harder nut 2 crack than all the rest the Sanghi game of cloak&dagger made easy preys. Because he is far more popular than them, and than the rest of the WB BJP leaders. He is more popular in their base (which is broader than hardcore Sanghis). But they will try

The Surajit Saha episode have exposed the choti chata Bengali media again. A nobody like Surajit Saha got exclusive interviews in entire WB media yesterday, including the “selective” Sange Suman of ABP. His claim 2 fame? Legacy BJP man taking on enemy of the people!

Even Republic Bangla seemed to be partisan towards Surajit Saha. This is also the channel that covers Dilip Ji the most among all WB BJP leaders. Republic Bangla was hostile towards Tathagata Roy when he was taking on Dilip Ji.

How much TV coverage was given to Madan Mitra expressing his discontent against supremo on ministry allocation, Kalyan Banarjee against Bhaipomoni on induction of Rajib Banarjee, Saugata Roy objecting to induction of Rajib? Almost 0. See why they are indeed choti chatas?

Bottom line, Suvendu is facing heavy odds, comprising of targeting as enemy of the state by ruling party & backstabbing & sniping by a section of RSS & hostile media. He has most definitely incurred the wrath of the Bangladesh lobby in and out of BJP-RSS. Let’s hope he is up2 it.