West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Tuesday underlined the political maturity and organisational experience of Nitin Nabin, who formally assumed charge as the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party earlier in the day.
Mr Bhattacharya said the people of West Bengal had already made up their minds about the party’s future direction and leadership, expressing confidence that the new national leadership would strengthen the BJP’s organisational base across the country. “Nitin Nabin is a mature politician and has been in public life for a long time. His experience will help the party navigate the coming political phase,” he remarked. Nitin Nabin took charge as the BJP’s national president at a ceremony held at the party headquarters in the national capital today. The event was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, outgoing national president JP Nadda, senior party leaders, and chief ministers from BJP-ruled states, underscoring the significance of the leadership transition.
A senior leader from Bihar, Mr Nabin is a five-time member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly and has previously served as a minister in the state government. Within the party, he is widely known for his organisational skills and administrative acumen ~ qualities the BJP leadership has highlighted as crucial ahead of upcoming electoral challenges.
Meanwhile, political tensions flared across several parts of West Bengal on Tuesday over the submission of Form 7 applications, with visuals of clashes emerging from different districts throughout the day. As per Election Commission of India guidelines, 19 January was the final date for submitting Form 7, which is used to seek deletion of names of deceased or shifted voters from the electoral rolls. The deadline had earlier been extended from 15 January, and the BJP has now demanded a further extension of at least seven days.
On Monday evening, the state BJP leadership approached the Election Commission of India with this request, citing alleged attacks and intimidation faced by party workers during the submission process. According to the BJP, whenever its workers attempt to submit Form 7, Trinamul Congress supporters are alerted and allegedly resort to violence and harassment. The party has written to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bengal, urging immediate intervention and an extension of the deadline to ensure the safety of its workers and the integrity of the process. The Trinamul Congress, however, has levelled counter-allegations, claiming that the BJP is misusing Form 7 to delete the names of legitimate voters from the draft electoral rolls. TMC leaders said protests were being organised to prevent what they described as an attempt to disenfranchise genuine voters.
The controversy over Form 7 has added to the charged political atmosphere in the state, even as the BJP looks to consolidate its organisational structure under its new national leadership.