Dilip Ghosh interview: ‘If Kashmir can cool down, Bengal definitely will … TMC making SIR an issue as it won’t get votes of deceased voters’

One of the most high-profile contests in the first phase of the Bengal Assembly elections on April 23 will unfold in Kharagpur Sadar in Paschim Medinipur district, where former state BJP president Dilip Ghosh will take on former MLA Pradip Sarkar of the TMC. After a stint as an MP and a subsequent loss in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Bardhaman-Durgapur, Ghosh is back in the seat that launched his electoral career a decade ago. In an interview, Ghosh addresses the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, food politics, and the BJP’s promise to implement the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations. Excerpts : * In 2024, you lost the Lok Sabha elections from Bardhaman-Durgapur, and now you are back here. Is this your litmus test? I won as an MLA here in Kharagpur in 2016. In 2019, I won the Lok Sabha seat. Then again, in 2021, the BJP won the Assembly seat. Even though we lost the Lok Sabha contest in 2024, we had a lead here. Kharagpur is with the BJP and the BJP is always with Kharagpur. I have been sent here because it’s my old seat. My target this time is to cross 1 lakh votes, which no one has ever achieved. * The TMC has been targeting your party over Bengali culture and ‘ashmita (pride)’. How are you countering that? Bengalis are a minority here, making up 38%. There are 30% Telugu people, as well as Odia, Hindi-speakers from Bihar and UP, and Marathi and Punjabi people. This is a cosmopolitan town, a Mini India. So, they (TMC) do drama by talking about Bengalis and then nominating non-Bengalis as MP candidates. Is there no qualified person in Bengal to represent the state in Delhi? Does Yusuf Pathan understand anything about Bengal or speak Bengali? Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad now represent Bengal. * The TMC has also alleged that the BJP will ban non-vegetarian food, including fish, if it comes to power. Bengalis love to eat fish, but the fish is coming from Andhra Pradesh. Why? What have you (TMC) done in 15 years? You have shown photos of fish and asked for votes, but you haven’t made the people self-sufficient. Farmers who produce rice and potatoes are dying. Their resources are being looted. If we come to power, we will make our farmers and fishermen secure and ensure that Bengal becomes self-sufficient in fish production again. * The TMC has alleged that central agencies and the Election Commission are colluding with the BJP. What is your response to the allegation? Whoever is in power at the Centre, it’s always said that central agencies are in their hands. But they are independent bodies. By that logic, they also say the Supreme Court is in the BJP’s hands, and Parliament is in the BJP’s hands, because they don’t respect them either. There is a political trend here: oppose the Centre, then oppose these agencies, and in the process, oppose the country. Today, if the CAA is passed, a fire breaks out here; if the Waqf Bill is passed, a fire breaks out here. Why doesn’t it happen in the rest of the country? This is done intentionally; the state government makes it happen. This is their politics. Everything will cool down in two days. If Kashmir can cool down, Bengal definitely will. * The BJP has promised the 7th Pay Commission for state employees immediately upon taking office. Given the state’s debt situation, where will the funds come from? When our Prime Minister has given his word, he is responsible. We are in power in 21 states, where we are running many projects to make farmers, the poor, women, and the youth self-reliant. Bengal once led economically and in other ways. It needs to be brought back to that position. The Centre will look into it. If these other states can do it (why can’t we?) … Here (in Bengal), everything is available; only the management is not right. We will fix that. * Is SIR the biggest issue in this election? The TMC is making it an issue as they won’t get the votes of deceased voters this time. The issue in Bengal is women’s security, the issue is corruption, and the lack of industries and jobs. * Matua voters have historically backed the BJP. But many Matuas have been struck off the rolls. Will that affect your prospects? It’s not just Matuas whose votes have been deleted. How many Matuas are there? We told those who came from Bangladesh to apply (for citizenship) under the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act). The TMC is telling them not to, saying they will be proven foreigners. Those who listened to them had their names deleted … (but) there’s no need to worry, it (inclusion in rolls) will happen next time. Those who listened to us are still voters. * The TMC has alleged the existence of a ‘secret deal’ between the BJP and Humayun Kabir’s AJUP? This answer has already been given by Amit Shah. The BJP would rather sit in the Opposition for 20 years than ally with those who are building the Babri Masjid. * There has been a lot of talk about “Old BJP” and “New BJP”. Has the BJP finally managed to find a balance between the two? Old and new are a matter of mindset. How long does it take to become ‘old’, a year, two years, or 10 years? Then I will remain ‘new’ even after 10 years. People join us and gradually adapt to our ideology. If they can’t, they leave. Sweety Kumari is a seasoned journalist reporting from West Bengal for The Indian Express. Wit... Read More