Differences in the faction-ridden Bengal unit of the BJP have spilled into the open after Calcutta High Court slammed the brakes on the party’s Ganatantra Banchao Yatra (Save Democracy march).

State leaders have been closeted in meetings and multiple sources indicated they have not been on the same page on a programme on which the BJP has been banking on in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls next year.

“There was no point moving court seeking permission for the yatras. The decision was a blunder and brought out communication gaps within the state unit,” said a senior state BJP functionary.

According to him, state president Dilip Ghosh has acknowledged that the legal tangle has demoralised BJP workers and supporters.

A source close to national secretary and former state president Rahul Sinha, who doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Ghosh, said: “Everybody is busy taking credit before the central leadership. Making a programme successful is secondary.”

Originally, the yatras were scheduled on December 7 from Cooch Behar, December 9 from Sagar Islands and December 14 from Tarapith in Birbhum. They were to be flagged off by BJP national president Amit Shah, who had floated the idea during a visit to Bengal in August.

BJP sources said other leaders like Mukul Roy and state minder Kailash Vijayvargiya had expressed doubts on whether a rathyatra would be successful in Bengal. Their reservations, however, got swept away as Ghosh vowed to make it successful.

“It was a mistake to bank solely on the yatra. We should have had alternatives,” said another BJP leader.

Sources in the state headquarters said Ghosh’s faction found it illogical to move court and wanted to take the fight to the people after the Mamata Banerjee government denied permission for the event.

“We would have faced no hurdle in our three yatras if some of us had not insisted on permission from the administration,” another senior party leader said.

“Those moving court were overconfident about a favourable order based on past experience. But they did not remember that in earlier cases, the court had permitted single-day meetings unlike the yatra of over 40 days this time,” the leader added.

The camp close to Vijayvargiya and Roy, which had favoured moving court, argued that with Shah planning to flag off the programmes and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior ministers scheduled to address rallies during the yatras, official permission was needed.