Setback for BJP in Alipurduar as veteran neta resigns from party posts
Times of India | 2 April 2025
123 Jalpaiguri: BJP's trouble in Alipurduar, a seat they had won in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is only increasing with a year left for the 2026 assembly polls.
Kumargram MLA Manoj Oraon, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, resigned from all party posts after claiming that some BJP leaders were prioritising personal benefits over party interests.
"Suvendu Adhikari and Dilip Ghosh are putting their lives at risk to bring about change in Bengal. However, some leaders are only concerned about their personal interests. They are hurting the emotions of the common workers and giving priority to flattery. If the party's result in the Alipurduar elections is bad, they will have to take responsibility. In this environment, I cannot hold any responsibility in the party. So I have resigned from all party posts. I will remain in BJP as a common worker," Oraon posted, triggering speculation on whether BJP has lost its ground in Alipurduar.
In the 2021 assembly polls, BJP won all five seats in Alipurduar. Later, Alipurduar MLA Suman Kanjilal defected to Trinamool. In 2024, BJP clinched the Alipurduar LS seat with Madarihat MLA Manoj Tigga winning. However, a by-election was necessitated at Madarihat, which the Trinamool won.
According to political observers, Trinamool has massively gained ground in Alipurduar after the 2024 LS polls. Lack of leadership and political programmes have cost BJP dearly in the district. The same is true for Jalpaiguri, where Trinamool has left the BJP behind.
Oraon is presently in Siliguri for his wife's treatment and could not be contacted. Alipurduar MP Tigga said they would take up the matter with Oraon. "I am in Delhi now. Once I return, I will definitely speak to him and get the issue settled. Manoj Oraon is a veteran soldier of our party. He may have some complaints. We will get those sorted out," said Tigga.
Ganga Prasad Sharma, who was BJP's Alipurduar president in 2019 and later defected to Trinamool, said it was BJP's internal matter. He said BJP had organisational weakness in Alipurduar and the party was yet to appoint a district president.