In a surprise move, Amit Malviya, the ‘brain’ behind the BJP’s IT cell, has been made the additional prabhari of the party for West Bengal. The move comes months before Assembly elections are due in West Bengal.
The appointment of Malviya as state co-in-charge of Bengal, along with Kailash Vijayavargiya and Arvind Menon, is highly significant. This means there will be an all-out fight on social media and various televisions channels next year during West Bengal Assembly elections. During pandemic, the battle would be fought differently than the usual way compared with the past when there were mass crowds in every village, town or subdivision. This election, for the first time, would see a change from the past.
Malviya had been in Bihar to campaign digitally but was not made in charge in the party organisation. His appointment this time is a major shift of focus as Malviya's social media campaign in Bihar was highly successful. He was brought to Bihar by party president J.P. Nadda.
Now, the party president gave another surprise by directly involving him in the party's functioning.
A senior leader of BJP said, "It is a masterstroke. It could change the whole scenario for us."
Another major reason for Nadda to bring Malviya into Bengal politics is to put heavy pressure on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee had earlier said several times that she asked her party leaders to be cautious of the BJP IT cell.
"It [BJP IT cell] has the ability to make mountains out of mole hills," the Bengal chief minister had said recently.
Her MPs unleashed vehement attacks on Malviya in recent times for allegedly guiding even West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on what to tweet.
Krishanu Mitra, a former BJP spokesman in the state, who switched to Trinamool Congress recently, told THE WEEK, "I am scared to talk to you over phone as I know what BJP IT cell is all about. Please come to party office and we will talk."
In the midst of the political wrangling, Malviya's appointment in Bengal could create ripples in the Trinamool Congress. The digital fight is expected to be intense as Banerjee herself employed election strategist Prashant Kishore to carry out a major IT campaign against the BJP in the coming weeks.
During the unprecedented pandemic situation, the election would be fought in Bengal with unprecedented mudslinging from both ends. Malviya has replaced another BJP strategist, Suresh Pujari, who has become an MP in Odisha. Shiv Prakash, another co-in-charge, has also been relieved. Sources said though Shiv Prakash has been relieved as co-in-charge, he would continue as the guide for Bengal BJP as he is also national joint general secretary (organisation) of the party. Shiv Prakash was one of the key men for BJP during its victory in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections. He worked extensively in Western UP.
Two Bengalis have been also found in Nadda's list of states in-charge. MP Sukanta Majumder has been made state in-charge in Sikkim. Anupam Hazra, a former Trinamool Congress MP, would shoulder the responsibility of state co-in-charge in Bihar along with Bhupendra Yadav, who has been given charges of multiple states.
