By Piyush Mishra
Copyright indiatoday
The BJP’s decision to entrust Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb with a larger political role in West Bengal is not without reason. His journey within the party, from a Delhi-based karyakarta to the Chief Minister of Tripura and now a Lok Sabha MP, reflects both political acumen and organisational grit.Biplab Deb’s entry into Tripura politics in 2015 marked a turning point for the BJP in the northeast. When he landed in the state, the party was virtually non-existent, lacking even Mandal Adhyakshs..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}However, the membership drive, which attracted more than 1.5 lakh people through a missed call campaign, offered Deb an opportunity to build from scratch. He personally reached out to new recruits, in some cases even visiting households of CPI(M) leaders whose family members had joined the BJP.Recognising his relentless efforts, Union Home Minister Amit Shah appointed Deb as the state BJP president in 2016. Just two years later, Tripura witnessed a political upheaval: the BJP won 36 of 60 Assembly seats, ending 25 years of Left rule.Deb became the state’s first BJP Chief Minister, a feat that cemented his reputation as a grassroots organiser capable of challenging entrenched regimes.His political trajectory only rose further. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Deb secured the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat with 8,81,341 votes, defeating Congress’s Ashish Kumar Saha by an emphatic margin of 6,11,578 votes — one of the largest ever in the constituency.Soon after, the party tested his skills on a bigger stage, appointing him co-in charge of the 2024 Haryana Assembly Elections.At stake was not just another state election, but the BJP’s credibility after its poor Lok Sabha performance earlier that year.Haryana was grappling with anti-incumbency, and the election was widely described as a litmus test. Working under the leadership of Dharmendra Pradhan, Deb crafted strategies that delivered the BJP a historic third consecutive government in the state, restoring confidence in the party’s organisational machinery.It is this track record that explains why the BJP now looks to Deb for West Bengal. Party insiders point to the similarity between Tripura and Bengal — both states share cultural and political legacies of Left dominance.“Mamata Banerjee rose to power in 2011 by dethroning the Left, but today her Trinamool Congress mirrors the very establishment it once opposed. To fight an entrenched political ideology like this, the BJP needs a leader like Biplab Deb, who has firsthand experience of dismantling the Left,” a senior BJP leader observed.In politics, symbolism is as important as strategy. Biplab Deb embodies the message the BJP wants to send in Bengal: that it has the patience, leadership, and organisational depth to challenge deeply rooted political forces.Whether this gamble pays off in Bengal’s turbulent political theatre remains to be seen, but the choice of Biplab Deb is as strategic as it is symbolic.- EndsPublished By: Karishma Saurabh KalitaPublished On: Sep 26, 2025Must Watch
