The BJP's national general secretary Anupam Hazra on Monday met over 500 BJP old-timers in East Burdwan's Kalna who have been sidelined by the party and claimed the party's target of winning 35 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls would only be a dream if the leadership neglected these party workers.

"There are thousands of party workers and leaders who have organisational powers that were sidelined and deprived of any organisational portfolios. A section of leaders in the state especially two or three, who are controlling the party in Bengal, had kept these people out of the the system. Today I met such deprived or neglected party workers in large numbers in Kalna to stand by them and stop them from defecting to the Trinamul Congress. The picture is the same in other districts and I will continue reorganising these supporters," said Hazra.

Hazra's move to woo rebel party workers is a sharp contrast with the policy of the Bengal leadership at a time the party's state committee suspended several rebel party workers who agitated in front of BJP's state headquarters in Calcutta against the role of three senior party leaders for sidelining them.

On October 12, over a hundred BJP old-timers from several districts agitated in front of the party's state headquarters at 6, Murlidhar Lane, accusing a section of top leadership of sidelining those who played a crucial role in the party winning 18 Lok Sabha seats from Bengal in 2019.

After the agitation, former state president Dilip Ghosh told reporters that protests were erupting as some party leaders did not listen to party workers.

"Leaders should listen to all," Ghosh had said within hours of agitation at the BJP headquarters.

On Monday, Hazra almost echoed Ghosh.

"I have been reporting about the rage of the deprived people in state party office and other places to our national president J.P. Nadda and will continue to do so. We have to find out why some party workers (close to senior leaders) get priority over those known for their organisational strength. Agitations are not a good sign for the party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. If state leaders do not give priority to thousands of deprived party workers and leaders, the target of winning 35 seats will only be a dream," Hazra added.

Later, Hazra posted on Facebook that the sidelined party workers demonstrated their strength on Monday in Kalna and tagged national president J.P. Nadda.