Former Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinha on Sunday obliquely spoke against statehood for north Bengal and urged people to remember Rabindranath Tagore’s call for unity through “Rakhi Bandhan” to protest the British government’s decision to divide Bengal in 1905.

His comment comes a day after BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh defended fellow MP and Union minister of state John Barla’s call for statehood or Union territory status for north Bengal as “nothing illegitimate”.

Sinha, in a video message posted on social media, said Tagore had taken up the

onus for promoting unity through the Rakhi festival in 1905 when the British rulers had first planned to partition Bengal.

“These days, we find some people are again talking about partition of our state. They want to finish off the rich cultural heritage and history of Bengal and want to change its name. We should all stand united,” said Sinha.

These contrasting voices, political observers feel, may be the BJP’s strategy to try and retain their support in all quarters of Bengal. Most in the state are vehemently against any division, but some in north Bengal, where the BJP has tasted poll success, want it.

“As the BJP won 30 of its 77 Assembly seats and seven of 18 Lok Sabha seats in north Bengal, it seems it is not ready to antagonise either side. This may be why different leaders are coming up with different statements,” said an observer.

Speaking to the media in Jalpaiguri, Ghosh had said if Jungle Mahal or north Bengal becomes states, chief minister Mamata Banerjee would be responsible because of lack of development.

“John Barla has not made any illegitimate demand but has simply voiced the aspirations of people who had voted for him,” Ghosh had said.

The remarks seemed to have nudged Sinha to voice his views.

“Those who want to change the geographical boundaries of Bengal and its history should realize that it is incongruent to Rabindranath Tagore’s thoughts and principles. We should all uphold our rich heritage and strive to conserve our history. It would then be a real manifestation of honour to the poet,” Sinha said.

On Sunday, the state BJP president held a meeting with party leaders of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts at a private resort in Murti on the fringes of Gorumara National Park.

Specific instructions were given to the leaders to prepare for the civic elections, sources said.

Additional reporting by Arkamoy Datta Majumdar in Calcutta