JP Nadda sacks senior West Bengal BJP leader Anupam Hazra as party’s national secretary

It is worth noting that Anupam Hazra, a former Lok Sabha MP, has been critical of the party’s functioning in the state for some time now.

JP Nadda (L) with Anupam Hazra (R). (Image: Facebook/@AnupamHazraFanClub)

Anupam Hazra deleted: In a surprise move, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda on Tuesday dismissed West Bengal leader Anupam Hazra from the post of BJP’s national secretary with immediate effect. Earlier in the day, Home Minister Amit Shah and JP Nadda held organizational meetings with core members of the West Bengal party to chalk out strategies for the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The decision to remove Hazra was taken after the high-stakes meeting.

It is worth noting that Anupam Hazra, a former Lok Sabha MP, has been critical of the party’s functioning in the state for some time now. Party insiders say Hazra’s removal is a “message” to dissidents within the party to adhere to organizational discipline and toe the leadership line.

The BJP has set a target of winning 35 of the 42 parliamentary seats in West Bengal.

In April this year, while addressing a rally at Suri in Birbhum district, Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, saying: Give us 35 seats in 2024 and the Mamata Banerjee government will exit. There is corruption in Bengal. And only the BJP can stop this.”

There are 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal. In 2019, the Trinamool Congress won 22 seats but faced stiff competition from the BJP, which won 18 seats. The remaining two seats went to the Congress, while the TMC registered a resounding victory in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections for the third consecutive term, winning 215 seats, while the BJP won 77.