BJP-RSS meet in Bengal stresses coordination ahead of 2026 polls

Kolkata, Sep 19 (PTI) The West Bengal BJP wrapped up a marathon round of coordination meetings with the state unit of the RSS, seeking to chalk out its campaign blueprint and organisational strategy with eyes firmly on the 2026 assembly elections.

The two-day huddle, which began on Wednesday night, brought together the BJP's central and state leadership alongside senior RSS functionaries.

BJP's general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh led the deliberations along with the party's state president Samik Bhattacharya and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

Senior RSS functionaries and leaders of its various affiliates attended the meeting.

The meeting discussed a roadmap to consolidate the BJP's organisation, expand its outreach and resolve bottlenecks that have hampered its growth since the 2021 polls, party leaders said.

The centenary celebrations of the RSS on Vijaya Dashami, which is on October 2, were also discussed, besides politically sensitive issues such as the SIR and CAA, they said.

"The focus was on coordination between the party and the RSS to ensure synergy ahead of the 2026 battle. The BJP does not want to leave anything to chance," a senior party leader said after the discussions ended on Thursday night.

Though there were speculations that the meeting would take up the formation of a new state committee of the BJP, which appointed Bhattacharya as its West Bengal president in July, nothing regarding it was discussed.

"It was a special coordination meeting. No discussion happened regarding the formation of the new state committee. It was not on the agenda of the meeting," another leader said.

The BJP's central leadership was learnt to have asked state leaders to resolve their differences and put in place a functional team under Bhattacharya.

Names of several leaders, including Ritesh Tiwari, Raju Banerjee, Sanjay Singh, Prabal Raha, Locket Chatterjee and Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, are being considered for key organisational roles, party sources said.

Shashi Agnihotri and Rupa Ganguly are in contention for leading the party's women's wing, while Tarunjyoti Tiwari and Suranjan Sarkar are the possible picks for heading the youth wing, they said.

Ganguly was president of the BJP Mahila Morcha in the state from 2015 to 2017. PTI PNT SOM