KOLKATA: Former Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh escalated tensions within the party after Wednesday’s meeting with Union minister Amit Shah, questioning the electoral utility of “mandir-masjid politics” and taking veiled digs at “recent entrants” to the state unit.“Mandir-masjid issues do not impact poll results,” Ghosh said Thursday, citing BJP’s loss in Faizabad LS constituency in 2024 despite Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. He said it would be “wrong to assume” Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee could win 2026 assembly polls by building temples.
Without naming anyone, Ghosh said, “Everyone is a worker in BJP. Recent entrants have to prove their identity.” The remark was widely read as a swipe at politicians who joined from TMC before 2021 assembly polls.Ghosh met state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and sought permission to campaign for three days in Kharagpur from Saturday, saying he wanted to contest his home seat in 2026 assembly polls. He also spoke openly about being sidelined: “Baseless, agenda-driven theories were floated and I was isolated. I have told the central brass this. I am not afraid of getting lost. I have faith in them.”Modi, Shah, Nadda in Bengal this monthPM Narendra Modi will likely hold a rally in north Bengal in the third week of Jan and Union home minister Amit Shah is expected to visit Kolkata by the end of the month. Union minister and BJP former chief JP Nadda is also scheduled to visit the city on Jan 8, said sources.
