Sukanta Majumdar, the Bengal state chief of the BJP, and Shantanu Thakur, a minister, have been selected as the state's representatives in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third government, inaugurated on Sunday.
Majumdar secured his position once more from Balurghat in South Dinajpur district, while Thakur has served as a two-time Lok Sabha member from the Bangaon constituency in North 24 Paraganas district. In the previous Modi administration, Thakur held the role of Minister of State for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.
Majumdar, a Ph.D. holder in Botany and a dedicated college educator, entered the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2019, a year marked by BJP's significant electoral gains in West Bengal. His ties with the RSS from an early age bolstered his standing as an MP, notably leading to the establishment of various railway projects in his constituency.
Following the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Dilip Ghosh, the former BJP state chief, stepped down, paving the way for Majumdar to assume leadership.
Thakur's political ascent within the BJP is noteworthy, given his familial ties to the ruling Trinamool Congress. He is the son of Manjul Krishna Thakur, a minister in Mamata Banerjee's cabinet, and the nephew of the late Kapil Krishna Thakur, a former Trinamool MP from Bangaon. The Thakur family holds prominence as the founding members of Matua Mahasangha, the largest association representing the Matua community, refugees from Bangladesh.
Thakur's victory in Bangaon in 2019, where he defeated Mamata Bala Thakur, the incumbent Trinamool MP and a family member, underscores his political prowess. With a background in English literature and a diploma in hospitality management, Thakur is lauded for bolstering the BJP's organizational network in Bangaon, a stronghold of the Matua community. His repeated success in the constituency is attributed in part to the enthusiasm generated among the Matua community following the notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
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