The BJP has a way of combining political events with emotionally resonant moments, and Saturday’s swearing-in ceremony of West Bengal’s first BJP government was no exception. While much of the attention remained on Chief Minister-designate Suvendu Adhikari and senior party leaders on stage, one elderly figure quietly drew national attention after Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted him with deep reverence.
In a touching gesture, PM Modi bowed before 98-year-old Makhanlal Sarkar, seeking his blessings and adding a deeply human touch to an otherwise political event. It also turned the event into a reflection on the BJP’s history, ideology, generational continuity and fulfilment of dreams.
The images sparked widespread curiosity about the identity of the elderly man standing beside the Prime Minister, who introduced him in a social media post as Makhanlal Sarkar, a close associate of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, one of the earliest ideological architects of the nationalist movement in post-Independence India.
“Today, as the first-ever BJP government takes oath in West Bengal, it is natural for all of us to remember Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee and his everlasting contribution to the nation and West Bengal in particular. No stone will be left unturned to fulfil his vision,” PM Modi wrote.
“During the swearing-in ceremony in Kolkata, I had the opportunity to meet Shri Makhanlal Sarkar Ji. A devout nationalist, he worked with Dr Mookerjee and was even arrested in Jammu and Kashmir while accompanying him. He dedicated his life to our party, expanding its base across West Bengal, inspiring people from all walks of life to join the party. We in the BJP are proud that we have such motivating figures who have worked among the people and strengthened our party,” he said.
Sarkar was arrested in Kashmir while accompanying Mookerjee during the movement to hoist the Tricolour there. More than seven decades later, the veteran leader witnessed what many in the BJP described as the fulfilment of a lifelong dream — the formation of the party’s first government in West Bengal.
Observers say that standing beside PM Modi at the ceremony, Sarkar also appeared to embody a living bridge between the BJP’s ideological origins and its present-day political rise.
Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh—the precursor to the present-day BJP—after resigning from Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet around October 1951. Alongside Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Dr Mookerjee is revered by the BJP as one of its foundational ideologues.
Mookerjee strongly advocated for a united India, or Akhand Bharat, and firmly opposed the special constitutional status granted to Jammu and Kashmir. At the Jana Sangh’s Kanpur session in December 1952, he raised forceful opposition to the idea of “two constitutions, two heads and two flags” within one nation, giving the famous slogan: “Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan, do Nishan — nahin chalenge.”
His movement sought the complete integration of J&K with India — a political objective the BJP says was realised decades later through the abrogation of Article 370. Mookerjee was arrested while entering Jammu and Kashmir without a permit as part of his protest against the state’s special status. He later died in detention under circumstances that continue to hold political and historical significance, with the BJP describing his death as a sacrifice for national unity.