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The plan splits Bengal into 6 political zones, each supervised by leaders who either have proven record in difficult polls or have handled key organisational roles in other states
The Bengal battle has formally begun and the BJP is treating it as a national prestige contest against Mamata Banerjee. (News18)
In the run-up to the 2026 assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has rolled out a region-wise command structure in West Bengal, deploying senior organisation strategists and sitting ministers from across India, signalling that the party is treating Bengal not as just another state election, but as a frontline political battlefield.
News18 has exclusively accessed the full structure of BJP’s ‘Team Bengal’, the most detailed and geographically calibrated organisational deployment the party has executed in the state. The plan splits Bengal into six political zones, each supervised by leaders who either have a proven record in difficult elections or have handled key organisational roles in other states.
Party insiders say the blueprint reflects two objectives: break Trinamool’s district-level dominance and build booth-level muscle where BJP collapsed in 2021.
1. RARH BANGA BELT: THE LABORATORY OF BJP’S EXPANSION
This region, consisting of Purulia, Bankura, and Bardhaman, remains the BJP’s most promising turf after the 2019 surge. To consolidate gains, the party has placed Chhattisgarh’s organisation general secretary Pawan Sai in charge.
He will be assisted by Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister Dhan Singh Rawat, signalling a twin focus: organisational discipline and welfare-scheme penetration.
BJP’s penetration in Bengal happened through Purulia, even before the 2019 general election, signalling the possibility this belt holds for the saffron party. But in 2024, BJP lost the key Rarh targets Bankura and Bardhaman seats.
2. THE HOWRAH–HOOGHLY–MEDINIPUR TRIANGLE
If sources are to be believed, Delhi’s organisation general secretary Pawan Rana takes overall control of this politically volatile belt. Due to its huge expanse, the area has been further divested with BJP leaders.
Howrah-Hooghly’s responsibility has been given to senior Haryana leader Sanjay Bhatia.
Medinipur’s charge has been given to Uttar Pradesh minister JPS Rathore, sources said, adding that the battlefield of defectors and prestige politics has now been marked as a priority combat theatre.
3. KOLKATA METROPOLITAN & SOUTH 24 PARGANAS: MAMATA’S FORTRESS
This is the TMC citadel—a region the BJP has never breached meaningfully.
To counter TMC’s most-organised machinery, BJP has deployed Himachal organisation general secretary M Siddharthan. Karnataka heavyweight CT Ravi, BJP’s youth face, has also been pressed into action, News18 has learnt.
A senior BJP leader in New Delhi whom News18 spoke to described this deployment as a “high-impact strike team” to break the perception that Kolkata and South Bengal are permanently closed to saffron politics.
4. NABADWIP & NORTH 24 PARGANAS: THE COMMUNAL POLARISATION BELT
This zone, with deep religious significance and shifting demographic dynamics, has been assigned to N Madhukar who is BJP’s Andhra Pradesh organisation general secretary and western Uttar Pradesh senior leader Suresh Rana.
The BJP believes this region has latent support but weak structure—something the new command aims to reverse.
5. NORTH BENGAL: UNPREDICTABLE
A region that once delivered seats in clusters but saw fragmentation later.
In Malda, Arunachal Pradesh leader Anant Narayan Mishra has been appointed. Meanwhile, in Siliguri, Karnataka organisation figure Arun Binnadi has been given charges, the sources added.
North Bengal, with ethnic alliances and Gorkhaland sentiments, needs micro-management—and the BJP seems prepared.
In the 2024 general elections, BJP lost one more seat than in the 2019 general election in its turf, North Bengal—that too of MoS Home Nisith Pramanik.
6. DARJEELING & FOOTHILLS: NARRATIVE WAR ZONE
The most symbolic and politically sensitive theatre—Darjeeling—goes to national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, formerly part of the Delhi narrative committee.
Sources say former Union minister Kailash Choudhary will operate aggressively in the Cooch Behar-Alipurduar belt, where BJP once dominated but has struggled to retain ground.
Interestingly, this comes in the backdrop of the appointment of retired IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Singh as interlocutor to hold talks with Gorkha groups.
WHY THIS MATTERS?
Unlike 2021, when the BJP poured resources but was found way short of “Do Sau Paar” when the TMC swept back to power, the party seems to be eager to not raise the decibel of its campaign early but focus on its strategy quietly. All these leaders have either reached their respective zones in Bengal or are about to. One leader who has reached the state told News18 on the condition of anonymity: “I will be camping here till I am told otherwise.”
In his speech after the Bihar election win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left little to imagination when he said: “The Ganga flows through Bihar and reaches Bengal. Bihar has also paved the way for the BJP’s victory in Bengal. I also congratulate the brothers and sisters of Bengal. Now, together with you, the BJP will uproot jungle raj from West Bengal as well.”
With the redeployment of its leaders, the message is unmistakable: The Bengal battle has formally begun and the BJP is treating it as a national prestige contest against Mamata Banerjee.
Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in …Read More
Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in … Read More
November 22, 2025, 16:14 IST
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