Bengal BJP holds brainstorming session after Lok Sabha poll debacle

Kolkata: The West Bengal BJP on Wednesday kicked off a two-day brainstorming session to discuss the reasons behind the party's dismal performance in Lok Sabha elections in the state.

The extended session of the state executive committee comes after the party lost three assembly seats to the TMC in last week's bypolls, marking another disappointment for the BJP following its poor performance in the parliamentary elections, in which its tally fell to 12 from 18 in 2019.

Addressing the opening session of the meeting, BJP state president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said, "The results of the Lok Sabha polls cannot be an indicator of the party's prospects in the state." "We will be discussing the way forward. It is true that our seat tally has dropped to 12 from 18. We need to identify what did not work. However, these results cannot be the end of the road for the West Bengal BJP. We must work hard and fight back against the onslaught and misrule of the TMC," he added.

Speaking at the meeting, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who has faced criticism over the party's performance in the state, clarified, "I did not oversee the organisation." "I am the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, and there has been no instance where I have made any remark that goes against the party. Secondly, I was in no way responsible for the organisational aspects of the state unit," he emphasised.

While the party held a brainstorming session at the Science City auditorium, a group of party workers staged a sit-in outside the state headquarters in central Kolkata, demanding action against certain state leaders whom they held responsible for the poor performance in the polls.