Sunil Bansal signals strategic shift with emphasis on loyalty, grassroots connect, and organisational discipline, marking a break from the 2021 playbook.
A closed-door meeting held on April 18 at the BJP’s Salt Lake office in Kolkata has sparked intense speculation about a significant shift in the party’s approach to the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections. At the centre of this shift is Sunil Bansal, the BJP’s state minder, whose remarks to district presidents and office-bearers have been interpreted as a clear signal of the party’s evolving criteria for candidate selection.
The most telling directive from Bansal was for district units to identify two or three individuals in each assembly constituency who have shown long-term commitment to the party. These individuals, he emphasized, should have stood by the BJP through both victories and setbacks, and should be unlikely to defect in the future. They must now be brought to the forefront of organisational activities, suggesting they will form the core candidate pool for 2026.
“This was perhaps Bansal-ji’s way of saying these names will be considered for candidature,” said a senior party functionary who attended the meeting. “He did not say it explicitly, but the message was clear—the days of importing candidates from other parties, or even like-minded organisations, may be over. Loyalty and grassroots connect will matter more than notoriety or recent visibility.”
If implemented, this approach would mark a stark departure from the BJP’s 2021 strategy, when the party fielded numerous turncoats—many of them recent defectors from the Trinamool Congress (TMC). While that helped the BJP become the principal opposition, winning 77 of 294 seats, it also led to instability. Several candidates lost, and many who won eventually defected back to the TMC. Today, the BJP’s effective strength in the West Bengal assembly stands at 65 MLAs.
Bansal’s emphasis on ideological consistency and internal loyalty is being read as a course correction—and a quiet repudiation of the methods employed by his predecessor, Kailash Vijayvargiya, who oversaw the 2021 campaign. Many in the state unit believe Vijayvargiya’s aggressive recruitment of high-profile defectors compromised the party’s organisational strength and alienated core supporters.
In another key move, Bansal reiterated the BJP’s internal rule barring district presidents from contesting the 2026 elections. Though this directive had been previously communicated, Bansal left no room for ambiguity during the meeting. The aim, sources say, is to keep district presidents focused on strengthening the party structure rather than chasing personal political ambitions.
Further cementing this separation between organisational roles and electoral ambitions, Bansal instructed each district to form a three-member committee comprising a state general secretary, a senior leader, and a member of the party’s IT cell. These teams will oversee pre-election activities but will not be considered for candidature. A similar structure will be mirrored at the state level.
Together, these developments suggest a deliberate strategic pivot: prioritising loyal ground-level workers over high-profile recruits, ensuring focused organisational leadership, and drawing a clear boundary between party-building roles and electoral aspirations.
Party insiders see this as the beginning of a broader ideological consolidation aimed at reversing recent losses and restoring internal cohesion. “The message is clear,” said a senior leader familiar with the discussions. “We are no longer chasing short-term gains through defections. We are returning to our roots—committed karyakartas who have stood by the party, rain or shine.”
As these directives ripple through the BJP’s state unit, the April 18 meeting may prove to be a defining moment in shaping the contours of the party’s 2026 Bengal campaign. Whether this strategy delivers at the ballot box or leads to friction within the ranks remains to be seen—but what’s certain is that the BJP is preparing for a serious course correction.
