Kolkata, May 15 (IANS): Fresh speculation about the growing distance between BJP parliamentarian Arjun Singh and the party cropped up on Sunday, as the heavyweight party MP from Barrackpore was again vocal against the style of functioning of the leadership.
Although for quite some time, Singh had been vocal against the Union Textile Ministry, over the latter's alleged reluctance in solving the jute price issue, never before the MP had directly criticised the party leadership as he did on Sunday afternoon.
According to him, the state BJP leadership in West Bengal, shows an indifferent approach towards those leaders who have joined the saffron camp from ruling Trinamool Congress.
"I have been associated with BJP for almost three years. Still, I am unable to shed by my Trinamool Congress identity which I had once. The BJP leaders still do not trust me. I do not know why they distrust me. I am being provided with a chair and pen. But I have not been provided the ink for that pen. Then how can I work for people?" he questioned.
His comments on Sunday gained more significance since the BJP Lok Sabha members are slated to have a meeting with the party national President, J.P. Nadda at New Delhi shortly.
Political analysts feel that there can be two possibilities behind such rebel mood of Arjun Singh. The first is that he is slowly preparing his exit rout from BJP to rejoin the Trinamool, which many such leaders have done before. The second is before the meeting with Nadda, he is shaping his bargaining tools.
Singh also said on Sunday that it is unfortunate that after so many years, the BJP was unable to build up a booth-level organisational network in West Bengal.
"Unless that booth-level organisational network is built up, no chemistry will work to bring the saffron forces into power in the state. Leaders like me and the Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari believe so. The chemistry of other states will not work in West Bengal," he said.
Singh also accused the current state leadership of the BJP in West Bengal of concentrating more on social media instead of building up an organisational network.