Dilip Ghosh signals active role in BJP’s 2026 push

Veteran BJP leader Dilip Ghosh on Thursday signalled a full-fledged return to the political battlefield, making it clear that the party’s 2026 Assembly campaign is firmly in his sights.

Re-energised, as he put it, by Union home minister Amit Shah’s call of action, Mr Ghosh addressed a press conference from the BJP’s Salt Lake state headquarters after a long gap, asserting that he would now be active “across the field”. “Amit Shah asked me to step into the field, and I have done so,” Mr Ghosh said, underlining that his renewed visibility was not self-driven but guided by the party’s central leadership. Without naming him, the former state BJP president took sharp digs at Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, reopening fault lines within the state unit. Speculation about Mr Ghosh’s political comeback had begun soon after his meeting with Mr Shah on Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon, the buzz turned into action.

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Nearly eight months after he was last seen at the party office, Mr Ghosh arrived at the Salt Lake headquarters, held an extended meeting with state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, and then faced the media in his trademark combative style.

Responding to questions about his apparent marginalisation within the party in recent months, Mr Ghosh struck an aggressive note. “I have always been around. I will play across the field. I was state president for six years and later handled other responsibilities. Today I have spoken to Samik-da. Wherever the party needs me, I am ready. I will fight,” he said.

Mr Ghosh also addressed the controversy from the recent Lok Sabha election campaign, when he had faced protests and black flags by sections of BJP workers. Without taking names, he blamed “new entrants” for the episode. “BJP workers have never shown black flags to me. In changed circumstances, many people have joined the party. This is their culture. They don’t know when and whom to show black flags to. Some people have come from the Trinamul Congress. They did this. Whether they were right or wrong, I won’t judge. I also don’t know whether they will stay or leave,” he remarked pointedly.

Asked whether he would contest the 2026 Assembly elections, Mr Ghosh said he had no reservations if the party asked him to do so. On the larger question of whether the BJP could reclaim lost ground in 2026, he invoked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s long political struggle. “How many years of struggle did Mamata Banerjee take to come to power? One has to keep fighting. People will come and go. But if you step away from the movement, it won’t work,” he said. With his remarks, Mr Ghosh made it clear that he intends to be a key player in the BJP’s Bengal strategy going forward.