BJP announces 34 members for party’s new committee in West Bengal

Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday named 34 members of the party’s new state committee in West Bengal.

Party Rajya Sabha member, Samik Bhattacharya, was already elected as the state president of West Bengal last year.

On Wednesday, the 34 members of the new state committee were named.

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The 34 new names included 12 vice-presidents, five general secretaries, 12 secretaries, one treasurer, two joint treasurers, one office secretary, and one joint office secretary.

At the same time, on Wednesday, the BJP had also announced the heads of three affiliated Morchas (mass organisations) of the party.

The new state committee has been announced amid the arrival of the BJP’s national president and Union Minister for Health, J.P. Nadda, to Kolkata on Wednesday night.

Union Minister Nadda will chair a crucial meeting of the new state committee on Thursday afternoon, where he is expected to outline the party’s strategy for the Assembly polls in West Bengal scheduled later this year.

The prominent names among 12 vice-presidents include the former party Lok Sabha and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nishith Pramanik, fashion designer-turned-politician and party legislator, Agnimitra Paul, party Lok Sabha member, Manoj Tigga, party legislator, Dipak Burman, and journalist-turned-politician, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, among others.

The prominent names among the five new general secretaries include two Lok Sabha members, Saumitra Khan and Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, and former party Lok Sabha member and actress-turned-politician, Locket Chatterjee.

The Chief Whip of the BJP’s legislative party in the West Bengal Assembly, Shankar Ghosh, has been named as one of the secretaries.

Party Lok Sabha Member, Khagen Murmu, has been given the chair of the party’s Scheduled Tribe Morcha in West Bengal. Dr Indranil Khan, a medical practitioner, had been given the charge of the Party Yuva (youth) Morcha.

Falguni Patra is the head of the party’s Mahila (Women) Morcha in West Bengal. Ali Hossain is the head of the Minority Morcha.

“The composition of the new state committee has been made with two factors in mind. The first is a balanced combination of old-timers in the BJP as well as those who joined the party at a later stage. The second factor has been those who are already elected public representatives; most of the other members in the new state committee will concentrate only on organisational activities rather than themselves contesting in the polls,” a member in the new state committee, who was also in the old committee, said.