BJP contemplating to field more Muslim candidates in Bengal
Kolkata, Oct 30: The BJP in Bengal is contemplating to field "considerable" number of Muslim candidates in the Lok Sabha elections next year with an intent to make inroads into Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's solid support base among minorities, and corner a sizeable share of this numerically crucial vote bank.
The saffron party's aim to make a shift in its political strategy in West Bengal appears to be a result of their harvesting a good number of seats in the local body election early this year by fielding Muslim candidates.
The BJP had fielded more than 850 candidates from the minority community in the poll to the three-tier panchayats, with nearly half of them winning the elections.
In the last Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had fielded only two minority candidates in the state, which has a total of 42 seats.
However, since the last Lok Sabha polls in the state, Bengal politics has witnessed a paradigm shift with the BJP emerging as the main challenger of the TMC by outsmarting the CPI(M) and the Congress.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh told PTI, the party will aim to field "considerable" number of Muslim candidates, given the fact that the state has nearly 30 per cent Muslim population.
"Although in our party, tickets are not distributed on the basis of religion, but we are receiving several applications from people of the minority community, expressing their desire to contest elections on our party ticket," Ghosh said.
There is still time left to decide on the issue of candidates and tickets will be distributed on the basis of eligibility, winnability and capability of an individual, he said.
Ghosh's views were echoed by party's Bengal Minority Morcha chief Ali Hossain, who felt Muslims are a deciding factor in the Bengal elections and the party cannot afford to ignore them.
The ruling TMC, however, discounted BJP's minority outreach plan and asserted that they continue to have faith in party chief Mamata Banerjee.
"The minorities have full faith in us. The BJP's strategy is nothing but a farce and the minorities are very well aware of their intentions," senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee said.
The Congress and the CPI(M) also pooh-poohed the BJP's Muslim outreach plan saying it was nothing but "shedding crocodile tears" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Ghosh claimed his party has expanded its base in Bengal by leaps and bounds and Muslims too are not out of its reach.
"We are running the government at the Centre and in more than 20 states, Muslims are living in peace and there are no problems. We believe in development for all," he said.
According to state BJP sources, who did not wish to be named, in order to make party president Amit Shah's target of 22 Lok Sabha seats from Bengal a reality, it is a "necessity" for the party to reach out to the minorities as the community plays a deciding factor in at least 10-12 Lok Sabha seats of the state.
Buoyed by its performance in the last Panchayat polls, the West Bengal BJP has prepared its Lok Sabha blueprint, targeting 26-28 parliamentary seats in the state.
The party presently has two Lok Sabha seats -- Asansol and Darjeeling -- in the state.
The BJP's Bengal minority wing chief Ali Hossain said the ultimate decision on the candidates' selection would be of the party.
"We won't pressurise the party by saying that it has to field so many Muslim candidates. Everything will depend on various factors including whether he or she is able to win the seat or not," Hossain told PTI.
The BJP minority morcha, West Bengal unit had last week organised a two-day conference to discuss various issues pertaining to the Muslim community.
A number of morcha leaders decided to propagate issues ranging from triple talaq to the Assam NRC to counter the "false propaganda" against the party.
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Like Rohit and Virat, Sanju can''t be replaced: Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag
Jaipur (PTI): Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag on Thursday said Sanju Samson's void cannot be filled in his side, likening the challenge to replacing stalwarts like Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli.
Sanju, who led the Royals from 2021 to 2025, was traded to Chennai Super Kings in a pre-season move, with Ravindra Jadeja coming in as part of the deal.
"If you talk about Sanju bhaiya, we never think about replacing the kind of player he is," Parag told reporters in a pre-season press conference here.
"We can perhaps look for someone with a similar skillset or have someone bat in his position...
"It’s like there is no replacement for Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma... In the same way, there is no replacement for Sanju bhaiya because he is such a good player,” Parag said.
Having represented the franchise for 11 years across two stints, Sanju was RR's most successful captain and leading run-scorer, having guided them to the IPL 2022 final and the playoffs in 2024.
His stature has only grown manifold following a stellar T20 World Cup campaign, where he struck three successive match-defining half-centuries to power India to a historic treble and title defence.
India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the final with Sanju being adjudged the Player-of-the-Tournament.
Rajasthan Royals had a forgettable last season, enduring 10 defeats to finish ninth in the 10=team standings.
Parag, who has been picked as the captain following Sanju's exit, said RR lost far too many close matches last year and the 2008 winners need better strategy and planning.
“This year, the focus is to plan better and finish games, which we couldn’t do in the previous edition," he said.
"We need to plan well. Last year, there were about 5-6 games which we lost in the last over or even on the last ball. Had we been able to convert those, or had we calculated better, this question (if RR would try anything new) would not have been asked because we would have qualified (for knockouts) by winning those matches," he said.
"I think that in every T20 game, there are 3-4 decisions that you have to make which change the course of the game. If we take those small decisions with strategy and planning, this year will be different," Parag added.
He further expressed his gratitude to the franchise for keeping their faith in him despite several seasons of struggle.
"I was here when I was just 17 and I have seen all the ups and downs, though more downs than ups till now. I want to thank Rajasthan Royals for supporting me and understanding the cricketer I am,” Parag said.
Sangakkara backs Parag -- the skipper
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The Royals’ director of cricket and head coach Kumar Sangakkara said he has always “admired” Parag as a cricketer and he was picked as a skipper after a robust round of interviews with other candidates.
"It was about trying to find the best person who can lead the Rajasthan Royals. I (first) met Riyan when he was a teenager and have admired him as a cricketer. He's right (when he says) he has gone through a lot and seen a lot," Sangakkara said.
"The most striking thing for me was (to see) how reflective and mature he has become."
“To select a captain once Sanju decided to leave, it was very important that we explore all options. We had shortlisted some candidates that we had a very strict interview process for. Riyan knows the questions were hard. At the end of the day Manoj (Badale) and I sat down and it was evident that the right choice to lead Rajasthan was Riyan,” Sangakkara added.
