The Bengal unit of the BJP has decided to ensure that the “flame of mass outrage” over the RG Kar rape-and-murder case, which has triggered an unprecedented movement against the Trinamool government, is fanned to fuel the “mood against Mamata Banerjee”.
In a first-of-its-kind approach in Bengal, the BJP has decided to do “everything possible” to make the movement stronger “without flags” as it is keen on the protests with the flavour of “spontaneity”.
“We don’t want to add political colour to any spontaneous protest. The party will certainly organise political events, but we won’t try anything to overshadow mass protests. Instead, we’ll keep the flame of mass outrage alive,” said a senior state BJP leader. “We will do everything possible to ensure that the protests retain the flavour of spontaneity.”
A source in the BJP said the party’s new approach would be clear on August 27, when a group, Chhatro Samaj (Students’ Society), is planning a Nabanna Abhijan (a march to Nabanna), demanding Mamata’s resignation.
Multiple party insiders said the event would be a litmus test to gauge the intensity of the mass outrage against the Mamata government.
“We would not officially participate in the program as it is not a call by us... But our workers may join since it is not a protest called by any political party,” said a BJP leader.
Although there are some differences within the party on how to go about the August 27 event — initially the leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that he would join it while state president Sukanta Majumdar said he would not — there is now growing unanimity that the party supporters would maintain a low profile even if they hit the streets that day.
The state BJP unit has been toying with the idea of aiding apolitical movements — “not stressing our presence with flags”, the source explained — since the RG Kar issue exploded and created unprecedented embarrassment for the Mamata regime.
The BJP has been organising multiple protests since August 9, but realised the power of non-political protest on the night of August 14 when lakhs across the state hit the streets to ‘Reclaim the Night’ ahead of Independence Day, the source said.
A section of BJP leaders believe that the party’s covert attempts at feeding the movement produced “unexpected results” as the slogan of “We want justice”, turned into “One resolution, one demand”, that of Mamata’s resignation.
“There seems to be a mood against Mamata.... This is what we have been trying to create, but failing. Now, ordinary people are creating this mood with their spontaneous movement. We will keep supporting it in subtle ways,” said a source.
“The brutal rape and murder of the trainee doctor has sparked outrage among common people. We must continue to highlight this issue and ensure that it isn’t forgotten soon,” said the leader, adding that their focus was on the 2026 state polls.
A source in the BJP said the party’s challenge is to keep the issue alive despite its poor organisational strength, which was exposed in the 2024 general election when it managed to secure only 12 seats.
Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh claimed that the proposed march to Nabanna was the BJP’s ploy to create anarchy in Bengal.
“The BJP’s flag was rejected by the people of Bengal. That is why they are organising such veiled protests to create chaos and anarchy in the state...,” Ghosh said.
