To beat cronyism, Bengal BJP introduces exam to pick ‘vistaraks’ ahead of polls

Just like any professional recruitment process, the BJP has introduced merit-based criteria through a written examination and group discussion to appoint campaign coordinators, or ‘vistarak’ in the party’s parlance, for each of West Bengal’s 294 Assembly constituencies.

A ‘vistarak’ is a full-time party functionary responsible for gathering independent, ground-level feedback from their assigned constituency by establishing direct contact with the people.

New format to beat cronyism

The appointment of such constituency-based coordinators is not a new strategy for the BJP. But, in the past, the appointments were made based on experience and recommendations from local party units or senior leaders, leaving room for cronyism.

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A rethink in the appointment process, party sources claimed, was prompted by concerns over favouritism in the selection of key party posts.

These concerns were reportedly flagged by several senior BJP leaders, including former state president Dilip Ghosh, in various party forums.

Ghosh has even publicly expressed his displeasure over the sidelining of long-serving party members and allotment of Lok Sabha tickets last year, on several occasions.

“One thing to remember: we should never overlook even a single old ‘karyakarta’ (functionary) of the party. If necessary, we can part with 10 new karyakartas, but the old workers are the backbone of our victory. Relying too quickly on new karyakartas is not a wise move,” he once said, quoting former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

294 posts, 500 applications

According to BJP sources, the new system emphasises merit to address allegations of favouritism and nepotism in the appointments.

Over five hundred party workers have applied for the 294 posts, according to BJP sources. They will be assessed on their understanding of the party's history and ideology through specific questions.

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The written test will be followed by group discussions on contemporary political issues about the state and the nation, ensuring that selected candidates are capable of defending the party's position and effectively communicating its policies and plans.

Incidentally, this appointment model was devised shortly after the BJP launched a state-wide exercise to verify the authenticity of its grassroots members and weed out fraudulent ones.

‘Cleansing’ through SARAL app

The party central leadership recently detected that many of its booth members and even booth presidents only exist on paper.

“In a bid to score brownie points, our district leaders enlisted thousands of fictitious booth committee members, some of whom were found to be Trinamool Congress functionaries," said a BJP leader from North Bengal.

Party general secretary and West Bengal in-charge Sunil Bansal started the cleansing process through a mobile app called SARAL earlier this month.

Under this system, enlisted members are contacted directly by the BJP’s central office in New Delhi, which prompts them to take a photograph by blinking their eyes through the app.

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After the photo is captured, a one-time password (OTP) is automatically sent to the member’s phone. Once the OTP is entered into the app, the person’s exact geographic location, including both longitude and latitude, are recorded.

“The central office directly contacts members to verify whether they are genuinely affiliated with the party. Their geographic location is recorded to confirm that they are indeed associated with the booth where they are listed as members. In some cases, it was found that party workers had been assigned to booths located several kilometres away from their actual voting centre,” the BJP leader told The Federal.

RSS roped in for recruitment

"A sincere and committed vistarak, appointed based on merit rather than mere recommendation, would report such fraud to the relevant leaders and would not shield self-serving district leaders," he pointed out.

"A decision to introduce tests for appointing vistaraks was made following a two-day brainstorming session held last week in Kolkata, where the state BJP leadership, along with central observers, met with the RSS’s state unit, party sources revealed.

It is widely known that the RSS is dissatisfied with the current state of affairs within the Bengal BJP.

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This coordination meeting holds particular significance, as the Sangh had played a limited role in the BJP’s campaign during last year’s parliamentary elections. However, this time, the BJP is placing greater emphasis on strengthening its coordination with the RSS, particularly to address its organisational weaknesses.

Eye on next year’s polls

Rathindranath Bose, a chartered accountant turned politician from North Bengal, has reportedly been entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the screening process. Bose is known for his close ties with the RSS.

The party plans to deploy coordinators in all Assembly constituencies well ahead of next year’s elections to expand its reach and oversee organisational coordination in their assigned areas.

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The recruitment process is expected to be completed by the first week of next month, allowing newly-appointed vistaraks to begin their work in their assigned constituencies immediately after the festive season.

Once appointed, the vistaraks will undergo a special two-day training programme to better equip them for their roles.

Additionally, the party has revised the eligibility criteria, now allowing married party workers to apply for the position. Previously, only unmarried workers were eligible to become vistaraks.