Kolkata: ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ must stop and there is no need for a minority cell, Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari declared Wednesday at the BJP State Executive meeting.
His rejection of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses as a slogan to define his inclusive governance triggered a political storm, prompting Adhikari to go into damage control mode.
The BJP MLA clarified later that it was a political statement that isn’t linked to the PM’s phrase or development work.
“I had spoken about nationalist Muslims, and you too had said ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. But I will not say this anymore. Instead, we will now say, ‘Jo Hamare Saath, Hum Unke Saath’. Stop this ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. No need for a minority cell,” Adhikari said at a packed auditorium during the BJP state executive meeting.
The BJP state executive was held in Kolkata, bringing together party leaders and workers to introspect the recent Lok Sabha poll defeat and chart a roadmap for the 2026 State polls.
BJP leaders attending the meeting told ThePrint that it was also an attempt to rejuvenate the party cadres and give a message of unity to take on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) after recurring defeats.
As a storm raged over his statement, Adhikari came out to clarify his statement made at the all-important meeting.
“Muslims did not vote for BJP. 91 out of 100 Muslims voted for Mamata Banerjee and this time 95% Muslims voted for her. This is my statement from a political angle; it has nothing to do with Centre’s developmental work or our popular leader Modi’s phrase. Don’t mix the NDA and the PM’s slogan with what I said,” he told the media.
Later, the Leader of Opposition put out a statement on ‘X’ saying that his statement was being taken out of context. He added that he “embodied in letter and spirit, Prime Minister’s call for Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas.”
My statement is being taken out of context. I am clear that those who are Nationalists, stand for this Nation and Bengal, we should be with them. Those who don’t stand with us, work against the interest of Nation and Bengal, we need to expose them. Also, like Mamata Banerjee, we…
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) July 17, 2024
Former Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinha sought to play down the row, saying that the party was the last word in making decisions.
“Individual thoughts don’t decide the BJP’s ideology. The phrase was coined by the PM and if the party feels it needs to change the philosophy that tells us how to function, it will be decided in Delhi,” Sinha told ThePrint.
Political analyst Snigdhendu Bhattacharya felt that Adhikari’s statement was made with the purpose of consolidating the Bengali Hindu voters in West Bengal.
“BJP made no attempts to get Muslim votes in 2019 or 2021. After they saw in 2021 that sharp pro-TMC consolidation of Muslim votes helped increase the TMC’s vote and seat share. Bengal BJP tried to tone down on the anti-Muslim rhetoric to prevent pro-TMC Muslim consolidation. It did not work. Except for Malda Uttar and Raiganj, Muslims showed no signs of changing allegiance,” he told ThePrint.
“So, the BJP now knows they must leave hope of influencing Muslim minds. They would likely go for hardline Hindutva to intensify pro-BJP Hindu consolidation. At the same time, it is because of the BJP’s anti-Muslim rhetoric that Muslims have consolidated behind the TMC, despite many being upset with corruption and maladministration and the grassroots level. It is the fear of the BJP that’s barring Muslims from expressing their disaffection for the TMC.”
Minorities comprise nearly 30 percent of the state population, according to the 2011 Census. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP’s tally came down to 12 from 18 in 2019. Its trajectory further went downhill as the TMC won all the four bypoll seats of Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagdah, and Maniktala.
Another political analyst Udayan Bandopadhyay spoke about the political ramification of this statement could possibly have in West Bengal where TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee has sat on protests to ‘Save the Constitution’.
“Almost one-third of the population in Bengal is composed of the minorities. So, if this dictum goes with BJP, it will have to struggle to polarise the remaining two-third. That’s also an impossible proposition. BJP is not in power. The Union government cannot make laws only for the Hindus,” Bandopadhyay told ThePrint.
“Apart from the constitutional obligations, it will not abandon its holistic approach for international stature, whatever be the hidden agenda of the Sangh Parivar. So, it’s quite impossible to feed the Hindus of Bengal, this type of rhetoric (was made). Moreover, BJP is not in a good position in the states where minorities are not as strong as they are assumed to be in Bengal.”
TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta took a swipe at Adhikari on ‘X’, saying that the LoP “stature is probably taller than Mr. Modi in BJP” “…BJP is a party only for the Hindus and there is no place for Muslims in it. This is Unconstitutional & Anti National! (sic),” he posted.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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