The outburst of outgoing Silchar MLA and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dilip Paul has once again opened Pandora’s box of the saffron brigade. He has traded serious charges against Cachar BJP leaders, including the party’s nominated candidate at Lakhipur, Kaushik Rai accusing him of running a syndicate racket in Barak Valley. The old guards too have been sidelined and turncoat leaders like Himanta Biswa Sarma have now taken over the reins of the party.
This has antagonized the old horses who have built the party from scratch. Silchar MP Dr. Rajdeep Roy is very close to both Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta. His hobnobbing with these turncoat leaders has irked many tried and tested veterans. The greatest unique selling proposition (USP) of Rajdeep is his strong academic background. He is one of the renowned orthopedic surgeons in Barak Valley and there are few like him at present in the Cachar chapter of BJP.
Rajdeep is making use of it and one should not have any qualms in it because in politics one has to know the art of pulling legs—if at all he wishes to reach the zenith in his career. Rajdeep is doing the same. Who has stopped leaders like Dilip Paul and Kanad Purkayastha from doing the same?
In this election, BJP is not pitted against either Congress or the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). Rather the contest is between BJP vs BJP (rebel faction).
How far official BJP can thwart the agenda of rebels, time alone will tell. Certainly, Rajdeep has taken a huge risk because till now his political career is at an infant stage.
If the lotus fails to bloom in Cachar, Rajdeep will be held accountable for this loss. The yesteryear leaders will get a new lease of life ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These are all speculations and analyses. Let’s wait for an opportune time. Let’s see how far Dilip manages to ride his horse in 2021.
If Dilip succeeds in dragging BJP’s nominated candidate from Silchar Dipayan Chakraborty to the third position, it will be a huge victory for him. It will open his door to rejoining his party after the elections is over. Once again let’s admit these are mere speculations. Let’s have a bit of patience and wait for the D-day.
Much is at stake for BJP in 2021. The Assembly elections of both Assam and West Bengal will show a glimpse of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. The verdict of these two states will have an effect on Uttar Pradesh that will go to the polls in 2022. In politics, perception plays a very vital role.
In the battle of perception, Narendra Modi is an ‘achiever’. His ‘go-getting’ attitude has brought him this far. Rahul Gandhi lacks both passion and fire and he is no match to Modi. In both Assam and West Bengal, only one man is contesting for BJP. It’s Narendra Modi. Sarbananda in Assam and the Bengal unit of BJP are mere foot soldiers of the party.
The old guards in Delhi—from L K Advani to Murli Manohar Joshi—all are not happy with Modi’s style of functioning. But they can’t say anything because Modi has achieved which they could not during their heydays. Can young turks like Rajdeep repeat this feat in Barak Valley for BJP? It’s very difficult to answer.