Senior national and state leaders of the BJP are displeased with a number of legislators and party leaders of north Bengal as the latter are overtly advocating in favour of separate statehood in public, even after specific instructions from the upper echelons of the party that they should refrain from speaking on the issue.

“It is disappointing that a number of MLAs and MPs and some prominent leaders of our party are openly backing the demand of statehood. The state and central leaders are aggrieved with them and a clear missive has been passed to them to stop commenting on the issue,” said a BJP functionary based in Siliguri.

In June this year, none other than party’s national president J P Nadda had instructed the legislators and the leaders not to speak on the demand for a separate north Bengal state, an issue that has been flagged by a number of organisations based in the region.

Even then, they went on commenting on it and on last Sunday, while speaking at a public meeting organised by the Ananta Maharaj faction of the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association in the outskirts of Cooch Behar, they reiterated the demand in an oblique manner.

According to BJP insiders, such proactive remarks by a number of MLAs and by some Union ministers of state, can foil the party’s prospects in Bengal. “This is because the demand for separate statehood might enjoy support of some people in northern parts of the state but as a whole, there is a strong sentiment against it among the majority of the populace. We don’t want to antagonize these people as the panchayat elections are ahead,” said a party insider.

In the municipal polls, the saffron camp had to bite the dust as it could not secure a majority in a single civic body of the state, including areas where the party has MLAs. “The party obviously doesn't want a similar performance in the rural elections. That is why it seems, the leaders intend to rein the legislators,” said a political observer.

KPP (U) rally

The Kamtapur Peoples’ Party (United) or KPP (U), a political party that has a support base among Rajbanshis of north Bengal, has planned a rally and a sit-in demonstration on September 14 over the demand of separate statehood.

“We will send memorandums to the chief minister and to the Union home minister on that day through the divisional commissioner. Our supporters from across north Bengal will join the event,” said Nikhil Roy, the president of KPP (U).

On the proposed peace talks which the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation wanted with the Centre and the Assam government, Roy said no such talks can be effective if the Bengal government is not included in the process.