Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made a major change in its election strategy for the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026 and has made many monks, mahants and priests its candidates. The party aims to strengthen its electoral prospects against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) by leveraging the spiritual influence of its candidates.
‘Spiritual’ leadership on the lines of Yogi model
Fielding candidates from religious background is not a new strategy of BJP. In recent years, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been the biggest example of this. Now following the same path, BJP has given opportunity to those faces associated with various monasteries and temples of Bengal, who are known as ‘Maharaj’ in their spiritual communities. These celebrities have long been associated with religious leadership as well as devotees on social and cultural issues.
Major candidates and their constituencies
Kaliganj (Utpal Maharaj): BJP has given ticket to 42 year old Sanyasi Utpal Maharaj from here. He has replaced the sitting MLA Soumen Roy. Utpal Maharaj was earlier the head of Bharat Sevashram Sangh in Kaliganj. After the nomination, he announced his resignation from the Sangh, the very next day Bharat Sevashram Sangh suspended him. He will contest against TMC’s Nitai Baishya.
Uluberia South (Swami Mangalanand Puri): BJP leader and monk Swami Mangalanand Puri has been given the responsibility of this important seat. His contest is against current TMC MLA Pulak Roy. Swamiji has been given a tough challenge to bridge the gap of 27,000 votes in the last election.
Nabadwip (Shruti Shekhar Goswami): BJP has made Shruti Shekhar Goswami, the priest of the prestigious Sri Sri Radha Sudarshan Lal JIU temple here, its candidate. There is huge enthusiasm among the workers due to his candidature. Goswami is contesting from five-time MLA Pundarikaksha Saha. The party is trying to tap the 9 percent vote bank here inspired by religious sentiments.
Behala East (Sunil Maharaj): Sanyasi Sunil Maharaj of Shiv Song Seva Sangh has been fielded from this seat. He is facing competition from TMC’s Subhashish Chakraborty, who has replaced Ratna Chatterjee. BJP wants to reduce the huge difference of 40,000 votes here through Maharaj’s sense of service.
Haasan (Nikhil Banerjee): BJP has given ticket to Nikhil Banerjee, priest of the historical Tarapeeth temple of Birbhum. He will contest elections against TMC’s powerful leader Kajal Shaikh. On this seat, BJP is behind TMC by a huge margin of 51,000 votes.
The fate of all these spiritual giants and political influencers will be decided with the announcement of election results on May 4. It will be interesting to see how successful this religious experiment of BJP is in getting the keys to power in Bengal.
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