India News | Inexperienced BJP Leadership Unable to Lead WB Unit : Party MP

Kolkata, April 16 (PTI) BJP MP Saumitra Khan Saturday lashed out at its state leadership over the party's drubbing in the West Bengal by-poll, result of which was declared during the day, and said the loss was expected as its state unit is being led by inexperienced leaders bereft of any political maturity.

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Khan, a former TMC leader who had joined the saffron camp ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, said that BJP has to learn many things from the ruling TMC on fighting and winning elections.

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"The result is as expected. When inexperienced leaders bereft of political maturity call the shots, you will get this. If immature politicians become decision makers, this is what you get. I think those who have been suspended from the party should be immediately called back and the central leadership of BJP must take note of it," Khan said after the by-poll results for Asansol Lok Sabha seat and Ballygunge assembly seats were declared.

TMC candidate, Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha steam rolled BJP's Agnimitra Paul by over 3,00000 votes.

"The state unit still has a lot to learn about fighting and winning elections from the ruling TMC. If we don't get our own house in order, then there are no chances of revival of the party," he said.

Several state BJP leaders contacted by PTI declined to react to his statements.

TMC was, however, quick to react saying the saffron camp has realized that it cannot fight against the Mamata Banerjee-led party in the state.

"It is good that they have at least realized that they can never fight against Mamata Banerjee in the state. I hope they will convey this message to their central leadership," TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said.

TMC snatched the Asansol Lok Sabha from the saffron camp and retained the Ballygunge Assembly seat with a reduced margin.

Its victory was sweeter as TMC was not only able to break the jinx by winning the Asansol Lok Sabha seat for the first time, but also with one of the biggest margins. It defeated BJP by a margin 303209 votes, the largest difference in the last few decades.

In Ballygunge, TMC retained the prestigious seat with Babul Supriyo as its candidate with a reduced margin of 20,228 votes compared to more than 70,000 votes in the state election last year. Supriyo had jumped the saffron bandwagon last year.

He defeated CPI-M 's Saira Shah Halim by garnering 51,199 votes against Halim's 30,971 votes.

Interestingly, CPI (M) pushed BJP's Keya Ghosh to the third position who managed to secure just 13,220 votes supportinh the communist party's claim that it was on a revival path.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)