In a significant move to consolidate the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) position in West Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has constituted a core leadership group to spearhead the party's campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections. The most notable inclusion in this team is former state president Dilip Ghosh, who had been sidelined from the party's active affairs for several years.
Shah's Strategic Move to Unite Factions
The decision was finalized during Shah's three-day visit to Kolkata, which concluded on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. Before departing for Delhi, the senior BJP leader held a closed-door meeting with top state functionaries and grassroots workers. The core group, formed under Shah's strict instructions to set aside internal differences, is a quartet designed to present a united front.
The team comprises state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, former state president and MP Sukanta Majumdar, and the reinstated Dilip Ghosh. Central observers Sunil Bansal, Bhupendra Yadav, Biplab Deb, and B.L. Santosh were also present at the crucial meeting where this structure was established.
The Return of Dilip Ghosh
The invitation to Dilip Ghosh marks a major political rehabilitation. Once the face of the BJP's meteoric rise in Bengal, Ghosh's influence waned after he was removed as state chief in 2021, following the party's failure to dislodge the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from power. For months, he maintained a low profile amid internal strife and was conspicuously absent from key party events.
His political isolation became starkly visible earlier in 2025 when he visited the Jagannath Temple in Digha alongside Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and praised the construction, an act that drew sharp criticism from within the BJP ranks. He was subsequently not invited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Alipurduar or Amit Shah's meeting with workers in Kolkata.
Emerging from the core group meeting, a rejuvenated Ghosh hinted at his renewed role, stating, "I was invited to share my experiences... I cannot say much right now, but you will see an active Dilip Ghosh in the 2026 elections." Party sources acknowledge that Ghosh's aggressive campaign style and substantial ground-level support are considered vital assets for the high-stakes electoral battle.
Setting the Poll Agenda: Infiltration and Corruption
During his visit, Amit Shah also sharply defined the BJP's central campaign themes against the ruling TMC. In his addresses, he accused the Mamata Banerjee government of "dangerously altering" the state's demography by abetting infiltration from Bangladesh for electoral gains and indulging in widespread corruption.
Shah told party workers that both infiltration and corruption had acquired an "institutional status" under the TMC's 15-year rule and warned that Kolkata would not remain immune to their impact for long. Identifying these as primary issues, he directed the cadre to build a concerted campaign around them.
The Road to 2026
The formation of this core group is seen as an attempt to bridge the gap between the party's old guard and new leadership. Dilip Ghosh, a long-time RSS worker, was instrumental in building the BJP's presence in Bengal, leading it from just three Assembly seats to over 70, and securing 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019.
With the Assembly polls due in just three months, Amit Shah's intervention aims to quell infighting and channel all energies towards the singular goal of defeating the Trinamool Congress. The success of this united team, and the reactivation of Dilip Ghosh, will be closely watched as the BJP makes its final push for power in West Bengal.
