Strategic Caution: Bengal BJP's Screening Committee Set to Evaluate Potential Entrants from Other Parties

Before welcoming leaders of other parties who want to join the Bengal BJP, the party's central screening committee must provide its permission.

The BJP want to take caution when accepting members of opposing parties, having learned from previous induction exercises. The party established a national screening committee a few weeks ago as a preliminary measure.

On January 6, the BJP's central screening committee will convene for the first time to determine the requirements that figures desiring to align with the saffron party must satisfy.

The screening is important for Bengal because two or three years ago, there was a rush of politicians, especially from Trinamul, to join the BJP, but the majority of them left.

With the exception of significant figures like Suvendu Adhikari, many prominent Trinamul figures who had sided with the saffron camp before to the 2021 Assembly elections rejoined Bengal's governing party after the elections, according to a number of top BJP officials who applauded the decision.

"It's a good idea to examine candidates since a lot of individuals join the BJP without knowing its philosophy. They come hoping to make quick money. Such acts negatively affect committed party members and leaders in addition to upsetting the party's organizational structure. MP and former state BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, "We have seen on multiple occasions that this behavior leaves a negative imprint on the mind of the general populace as well."

Party sources claim that 34 Trinamul MPs defected to the BJP due to disagreements with Trinamul, after being refused a ticket, or because they thought the BJP would be a better fit for their political future.

Prominent figures like as Rabindranath Bhattacharya, Rajiv Banerjee, Suvendu Adhikari, Mithun Chakraborty, Baishali Dalmiya, Jitendra Tiwari, and Dinesh Trivedi were among the defectors.

"People like Rajiv Banerjee, who is a leader, returned to Trinamul. Many others would want to return to Trinamul, but they are unable to do so since their former group would not accept them. said differently, a senior party official said that the majority of Trinamul leaders who joined the BJP before to the Assembly elections had ceased to be active.

Even more fascinating is the case of Mukul Roy. Known for leading Trinamul, he changed sides in 2017. In 2021, he was elected as a BJP MLA, but a few days after the May 2 results, when Mamata Banerjee won back the seat of government for the third time in a row, he reverted to Trinamul.

A calculated move has been taken by the Bengal BJP to hold off on hiring high-ranking Trinamul officials before to the next Lok Sabha elections. Sukanta Majumdar, the state president of the BJP, said lately that the party has learnt its lesson.

"The hard way taught us our lesson. We promise not to repeat the same error. "Our party will not allow these 'criminal' Trinamul leaders to enter the country," Majumdar had said during an organizational meeting.

A senior party official said that while the BJP is not interested in inducting well-known Trinamul members, it is willing to accept grassroots workers from its opponents.