Bengal BJP upset over governor-Shah meet

■ Continued from Page 1 that said: “The approach of minister Firhad Hakim with respect to the role of the governor of the state, to say the least, betrays elementary ignorance both of the Constitution and the role of the governor. Making such public statements, contrary to the constitutional essence and spirit, does not promote synergy between the constitutional head and the state government.”

The governor said the “violence trail witnessed during those elections (panchayat and Lok Sabha) cannot be allowed to be repeated.”

As polarisation appears to be the main election plank for the coming Assembly elections in the state, talk has started in the state BJP over the projection of a chief ministerial candidate. A section of the party is of the view that going into the polls without a face could give chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a big advantage.

Leading the race to be the party face is BJP state unit chief Dilip Ghosh. However, another section in the state unit indicated that to win in West Bengal, the BJP must come up with a “Bengali bhadralok face”.

This particular section felt that Dilip Ghosh’s “foul rhetoric” went “against the sensitivity of Bengal’s bhadralok culture”.

Three other names, who apparently fit into the “genteel bhadralok genre”, have surfaced and if sources are to be believed, all three are “actively” lobbying for the coveted post. The BJP leaders in the race for the top post include Union minister Babul Supriyo, Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta and Anirban Ganguly, director of the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation (SPMRF).