BJP TODAY

October 1--15, 2005 - Vol. 14, No. 19

Early strides of
BJP in West Bengal
By Paras Dutta

April 6, 1980 was the days crucial in the political history of the nation. A new party, which reflects the aspirations of millions of nationalist hearts in India, was formed, which rose like the phoenix from the ashes of the gutted Janata combine. Bharatiya Janata Party was formed, by the member of erstwhile Jana Sanghis and nationalist political workers from other constituents of the Janata combine, to raise a political forum in the country which would give direction to this nation on questions of value based politics, nationalism, integration of the country, true and correct secular credentials which the Indian ethos has always cherished, democratic functioning of all institutions and equal socio economic justice for all.

No sooner had the Janata Party split, and BJP emerged, the West Bengal unit was also formed with the Shri Haripada Bharati as President. West Bengal politics, which has always been polarised between the Congress and the Communists, was a difficult place for a third force to set its foot on. BJP at the time of formation had two MLAs (Prof. Vishnu Kant Shastri and Shri Haripada Bharati). It was between 1980 and 1984 that the party in the State aspired to get movement oriented, a dimension hitherto alien to the workers in the State. It was during this time that the party regularly arranged on a small scale movements in the form of dharnas, demonstrations and corner meetings on local issues. There was a steady growth graph for the party during this time. In the 1982 Assembly polls BJP contested 54 out of 294 seats and secured respectable votes in as many as seven constituencies but not the seats it had held. The party had some pockets of influence in some districts of the State, although the larger stretch of the land remained devoid of its essence. West Bengal BJP, despite everything it stood for, was considered by the people as a bunch of amateur do gooders who could not really catch the aspirations of the voters through political dynamism. The Panchayat polls in 1983 were officially boycotted by the Congress (although Congressmen contested on a large scale as independents). There was a vacuum of some sort in the State's politics. Yet BJP could not field more than 800 candidates all over the State out of nearly 45 thousand seats. In short, the progress of the party during these four years was not as spectacular as in many other States.

Hard Blow

December 1984 was a great blow. Defeats one after the other had made even the most optimistic feel that BJP's winning capabilities in elections had waned. But the spirit of adventure made the West Bengal BJP stride firmer in the overall infirmity. The National Executive Meet was arranged was hosted with reasonable success at Calcutta in March 1985. Then came the Calcutta Civic Polls and West Bengal showed the way. Fighting alone in a political environment totally polarised between the Congress and the Left Front where no other force came anywhere near a winning position in Calcutta, BJP wrested two seats from the giants in the Calcutta Corporation. It also managed to secure respectable votes (losing narrowly in as many as 10 others).

Movement Orientation

In 1986 BJP took up the problem of infiltrators from Bangladesh to West Bengal in a big way. Like minded socio cultural organisations joined hands and BJP slowly started catching the imagination of the people in a positive manner. Demonstrations were held in hundreds all over the state. The hitherto small pockets snowballed into larger areas of influence. 1986 municipality elections showed further success in different municipalities. During 1986 and 1987 no issue was spared. The movement orientation in the party was getting professionalised. The media in West Bengal started recognising BJP's activities with apt importance. In the wake of the agitation in Darjeeling, when political parties of all hues and shades were fleeing the hills, the BJP state delegation was the first to reach the hills for an on the spot study of the situation. 1987 Assembly polls in the state were a turning point for BJP in West Bengal.

Contesting 57 seats, BJP was a near winner in at least 10. On analysis of the votes secured it revealed that the support base of the patty was increasing steadily, particularly in rural areas. What was lacking was the professional approach to set up the election machinery. The performance of the elected representatives of BJP was getting the admiration of the people. The three tier 1988 Panchayat election, where BJP contested more than 2300 seats, confirmed that rural Bengal was rallying behind the party. BJP candidates won this election in different tiers in large numbers from 8 districts. There were about 300 candidates who lost by votes between 1 to 15. The analysis of the votes revealed that rural votes for BJP had almost doubled between the 1987 Assembly elections and 1988 Panchayat elections.

All round Progress

1989 was a year of further progress for the party. The youth wing was strengthened to combat the need for increased agitational movements. The Mahila wing has strengthened itself considerably. The Kisan Wing, armed with the demands for waiver of agricultural loan and profitable price for farmers, has shown remarkable dynamism. A massive rally led by Shri Advaniji was held at Raiganj in April 1989. The publicity activities attracted the common man with wall writings, leaflets, posters, booklets and the regular journal 'Bibartan' (started in August 1988). The district functionaries were made media conscious. The main rival of the party, CPM was constantly attacked ideologically through all these outlets, and this attracted the non communist sector of the people to a large extent.

On the agitational front in the State, BJP staged fierce movements against the Left Front's financial bungling and terrorism side by side with the scandals of the Congress Government at the Centre. It voiced the cause of the refugees from Bangladesh after Islamisation of that country along with the problem posed by the Muslim infiltrators from across the border. It raised the demands of the agricultural sector along with those of small traders in the city. It took to the streets for communal harmony with the same zeal as was shown for helping those who wanted to perform the "Ram Shila Puja" in the wake of threats from the State government. It went to the people for the sake of the innocents killed in Punjab and Kashmir as it had staged agitations for the refugees of Sri Lanka. This all round activity of the party in the state yielded good results in the Lok Sabha elections. Not only has the party secured five times more votes than in the previous Lok Sabha election, but it has also secured 50,000 or more votes in 5 seats, the highest being 83,000 in Jangipur. In districts where there were no elected committees BJP secured about 20,000 votes!

The BJP Fever

Since elections in November 1989, West Bengal has caught the BJP fever. The Congress started fading away from the political map of the state. Rampant corruption from the grass root level to the highest quarters of the CPM have stripped it of all the values it stands for on paper. The hollowness of Communism as exposed in the fatherland of the movement and its satellite countries has made the ideology suspect in the people's mind, including their own rank and file. CPM resorted to wide scale terror tactics in West Bengal to suppress their only rival, BJP. Supported by concerted Goebellian propaganda against BJP and aided by a section of the administration, the CPM started its nefarious attacks on BJP in the State.

The Influx

The influx into BJP has increased manifold. In West Bengal BJP is considered by the common man as the only alternative to the communists. It is being looked upon as a messiah of some sort who can save Bengal from the onslaught of the Communist regime. Thousands of new workers have joined the party from other parties, including the CPM.
to be continued...