Kolkata:
The Bharatiya Janata Party has clarified that its cadre will be prioritised in deciding the candidates for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, allaying fears that the NCPI - the party which subsumed most Trinamool Congress MPs and now supports the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre - might demand a chunk of the poll tickets BJP workers have their eyes on.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar, who heads the BJP panel on the local elections in West Bengal, laid down the criteria for poll tickets. "Winnability" topped the list, followed by a candidate's links to the party. He, however, made an exception, saying "good people from outside" should be brought in, indicating BJP credentials are not the ultimate test for candidacy.
"There is an SOP for the party's candidacy, and we will follow it. As I mentioned earlier, we look at several factors, the first being winnability, whether the candidate can win. Second, we consider whether the person is a BJP worker. Additionally, I feel, and the party may also think this way, that we should bring in good people from society. In politics, just like fresh water coming into a reservoir cleanses and improves the overall quality, bringing in good people from outside can also be beneficial," he said.
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Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya was emphatic in stating that the party's doors for NCPI-backed candidates are closed.
Soon after the BJP dislodged Mamata Banerjee from power, the party she founded in 1998 disintegrated, with over 60 MLAs forming a separate group and over 20 MPs joining NCPI. A courtroom struggle is underway between Banerjee and the group of MLAs for the right to be called the "real Trinamool".
"Those who are Trinamool remain Trinamool. The BJP contested the election against the Trinamool Congress on its own strength, and the people rejected the Trinamool Congress. People did not vote for the BJP just to see a change of attire (by politicians). The BJP learned lessons from the 2021 elections; building upon those, it contested the 2026 elections and formed a government under the leadership of Suvendu Adhikari with a two-thirds majority. Therefore, the BJP did not come to power through anyone's charity. The people placed their trust in the BJP, and that trust remains unshaken to this day," he said, reacting to MP Kunal Ghosh's swipe that the BJP would have to rely on turncoats for nomination to the 209 Kolkata corporation seats.
The BJP has set a deadline of 5 pm on October 26 for the submission of applications for KMC poll candidature.
"Regarding KMC, since elections are approaching, meetings will naturally continue. Our job is to implement the planning on the ground. As I mentioned in Bengali, I repeat: 26th, that is, the day after tomorrow, until 5 pm is the deadline we have set as the last time for depositing your CV to contest the KMC election. This is the last date and time we have set. After that, the selection process for candidates will begin in the coming days, during which we will hold consultations from the grassroots," said Majumdar.