'Mother's wish': Ex-Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh ties knot with party colleague at 60
Kolkata, Apr 18 (PTI): Former West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh tied the knot with party colleague Rinku Majumdar in an intimate ceremony on Friday.
Dressed in traditional Bengali wedding attire with a 'topor' on his head, Ghosh, along with his wife, appeared before the press following the rituals and sought people's blessings.
"I thank everyone for their good wishes. I also thank Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has wished me. My personal life will have no bearing on my political career," he told reporters waiting outside his residence in New Town near Kolkata.
Ghosh, 60, said that he decided to get married to fulfil his mother's wish.
While he has been a bachelor till now, this is Majumdar's second marriage, and she has a son from the earlier one.
Ghosh, known for his one-liners and quirky takes, has been a member of the RSS since his youth, and has served it in various roles across the country before becoming the state BJP president in 2015.
As the state president, he is credited with establishing the BJP as the main opposition party in West Bengal, replacing the Left.
The couple met in 2021 during morning walks at the Eco Park, and the relationship grew over time, people close to them said.
It was during an IPL match at the Eden Gardens earlier this month that they decided to formalise the relationship, they said.
The marriage proposal had come from the bride's side.
"I am very happy and proud that he accepted my proposal, though he was not keen in the beginning," said 51-year-old Majumdar.
Senior BJP leaders, including the party's state president Sukanta Majumdar, visited Ghosh's residence throughout the day to wish him.
The chief minister also sent two flower bouquets and a letter to Ghosh in the afternoon, wishing him for his new innings.
However, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari was conspicuous by his silence.
"I will not comment on it," he told a local news channel when asked about the wedding.
It was learnt that the wedding rituals were conducted as per Vedic traditions. Only close relatives of the couple were present.
Ghosh said that on Saturday, he will visit Kharagpur, which he had represented in the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024.
He is also likely to attend a political programme in Dumdum, party sources said.
Asked about his honeymoon plans, he said, "It will happen somewhere in the country."
Several TMC leaders also congratulated Ghosh on his wedding.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh in a post on X said, "Since they regularly went for morning walks to Eco Park, since their acquaintance began there and eventually blossomed into a union, and since that beautiful Eco Park is the creation of Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister's role in this union is truly undeniable."
The BJP leader is expected to play a crucial role in the party's campaign for the assembly elections in the state next year.
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Prashant Kishor denied entry into ancestral village of Nitish Kumar
Bihar Sharif (Bihar), May 18 (PTI): Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor was on Sunday stopped by the administration from entering Kalyan Bigha, the ancestral village of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, where he wanted to interact with locals during his visit to Nalanda district.
Kishor, who wanted to launch his party's signature campaign demanding answers on "unfulfilled" government promises from the ancestral village of the CM, was stopped by the district administration and security personnel from entering the village. Kishor and his party workers wanted a face-to-face interaction with the residents of Kalyan Bigha.
Officials maintained that the Jan Suraaj Party did not seek prior permission to hold such a gathering at Kalyan Bigha.
"The Jan Suraaj Party had sought permission to hold a public meeting in Bihar Sharif (district headquarters of Nalanda) on May 18…the district administration had given them permission. The party had not sought permission for holding such an event at Kalyan Bigha…that was the reason they were not allowed to enter the village," Nalanda District Magistrate, Shashank Shubhankar, told PTI.
"Holding public meetings at a particular place requires a lot of preparations by the district administration, including police. That is the reason prior permission is mandatory for such gatherings. Since they had been given permission to hold the public meeting on May 18 in Bihar Sharif only,... They were asked to go to the place in Bihar Sharif for which the permission had been granted," said the DM.
Interacting with media persons, where he was stopped, Kishor said he wanted to interact with locals but was stopped.
"I wanted to interact with locals to see the situation in Kalyan Bigha, the ancestral village of the CM. But I am not being allowed. This is the government of Nitish Kumar. Earlier, they stopped Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from holding an interaction programme with students in Darbhanga. Now, they are doing it with me."
In a verbal exchange with officials of the district administration, Kishor was heard saying, "Will you stop me from entering the village ? Do I need permission to visit the village ? I want you to give it in writing, and then I will return. We are law-abiding people..."
The SDM was heard saying, "You need permission as there might be a law-and-order situation. People have filed a complaint."
Later, Prashant Kishor went to Bihar Sharif and addressed the gathering and also launched the signature campaign. The party launched a signature campaign demanding answers on "unfulfilled" government promises.
The signature campaign will focus on three points – what happened to the Nitish government's promise of giving Rs 2 lakh each to the 94 lakh poor families, 3 decimal of land to the Mahadalit families and corruption in the ongoing land survey.
Earlier, Kishor had said that a Jan Suraaj Party delegation would collect signatures from one crore people across 40,000 villages in the state till July 11.
The signatures would then be submitted to the governor and the CM if the government "failed" to disclose within a month the status of delivering Rs 2 lakh to each of the 94 lakh poor families identified in the caste survey and of providing land to the landless.
