Amit Shah is leading the Bengal campaign from the front so he can claim full credit if the BJP wins, sections of BJP leaders feel while wondering whether he would own responsibility in defeat.

The Union home minister’s complete control over the BJP’s Bengal campaign gives the impression that he is the de facto party president and undermines incumbent J.P. Nadda’s authority, many in the party feel.

“Shah is the chief strategist for Bengal and Assam. If we win Bengal and retain Assam, he will naturally get the credit,” a BJP senior said. “But if we lose, Naddaji alone shouldn’t be made to own responsibility.”

Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party’s mascot in every election, Shah has been the most visible face of the BJP campaign, particularly in Bengal.

Many in the party fear that if the BJP fails to wrest Bengal and loses Assam, Nadda would have to take the rap. But if the party wins Bengal, then — even if it loses Assam —Shah would be projected as the chief architect of the victory.

Some others defended Shah saying there would be nothing improper in his claiming credit for a win in Bengal.

“Amitbhai has been preparing the ground in Bengal since he was party chief. It was under his leadership that we won 18 Lok Sabha seats from the state,” a BJP source said.

However, a senior BJP politician said it was not good for the party that Shah was being allowed to run its affairs instead of focusing on his job as home minister of the country.

Sources suggested that just as Modi remained the topmost leader of both party and government, Shah wanted to be number two in both.

Even after joining the government in 2019 and stepping down as BJP president in January 2021, he has been leading the party in key electoral battles and taking crucial party decisions. Many in the BJP see this as his way of making sure he succeeds Modi.

Last year’s Bihar Assembly polls were an exception: Shah didn’t campaign for a single day. Some BJP sources suggested Shah had deliberately avoided Bihar because of unfavourable reports from the ground.

To Shah’s surprise, the NDA won and the BJP emerged as the largest party ahead of senior partner JDU. It prompted Modi to publicly congratulate Nadda.

Shah doesn’t want to miss out this time, particularly because he knows the importance of the trophy called Bengal, party insiders said.

“Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, we lost four important states — Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — under Shah’s leadership,” a BJP leader said. “Later the same year we lost Maharashtra and Jharkhand and barely managed to hold on to Haryana.”

“Amitbhai is now looking at Bengal, hoping to make up for all the losses and shine again,” the BJP leader said.