‘If even 2% people think BJP is a replica of TMC, 90% voters will shift’: RSS mag sounds caution
Times of India | 31 August 2026
Kolkata: The real challenge for BJP in Bengal is not the rise of any opposition party but answering questions raised by people, said RSS’s Bengali weekly ‘Swastika’ in its latest issue. As in its last couple of issues, the weekly has again sounded a note of caution against “thugs” in the party.
“The challenge is not political parties becoming powerful… there is no opposition party to fight BJP… but the pressure of facing the people. That is much stronger than any party in opposition,” the article reads.
Pointing out that once a political party has been rejected electorally by the people of Bengal, it has never been able to make a comeback, the article says: “The corrupt govt of 15 years has been devastated. Left Front and Congress have become negligible forces in (Bengal) politics…BJP has an open ground in front of it now.”
The article goes on to say, “If even 2% voters feel that the present BJP is a replica of the thugs (Trinamool) who governed the state for 15 years, 90% voters will shift from BJP.”
In an article in its Aug 17 issue, Swastika had published, “An ambience of trust deficit has gripped the state’s industrial clime and that has to be removed. BJP has to get rid of 5% thugs who have entered the party.”
While lauding BJP’s decision to identify about 250 members for extortion and anti-party activities, the article had pointed out that 25 members had been suspended.
The article also said that while people might ask why BJP was not taking a step against netas like Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas and Javed Khan, and instead carrying them along, BJP had to keep in mind national politics. “The govt needs support of two-thirds of the lawmakers to pass important bills.”