In 1971, Gopivallabpur village of Pashim Medinipur district went Naxalite way. A -year-old boy was among the few villagers who swam against Naxalite tide. As class war raged around him, he told his father, a school teacher, that he wanted to join RSS. He was interested in sports, and had been drawn to RSS volunteers who were coaching the local boys in footfalls, athletes and stick fighting, after school hours. They also told them about the lives of their leaders, about a political party called Jana Sangh and its founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.

When Dilip was 20, the young man left his home to become a fulltime RSS member. He seldom touched base with the family thereon.

Almost 40 years later, Dilip is the President of West Bengal unit of the BJP. His supporters say he will be next chief minister. Election to the Assembly is due in May, and Dilip has already mounted an aggressive campaign to unseat Mamata Banerjee and the TMC.

Though the BJP has not named anyone as its candidate for the chief minister’s post, Dilip is seen as the forerunner. He is a formidable man, a controversial figure, who has rarely balked at making inflammatory speeches.

Five years ago before he was deputed to the BJP, Dilip was a politically untested Pracharak, but a powerful one. Today, he is the most popular leader in the state barring Mamata. His morning meetings over tea which drew just 50 people four years ago, are now attended by thousands. The police have had to intervene to control the crowds and have pulled him up for not taking permission for holding rallies.

At a typical Ghosh event in rural Bengal these days, people jostle to catch a glimpse of him. He starts by speech by attacking the state machinery and the chief minister. His colourful words have brought about 50 court cases, but he just goes to higher courts to get bail and comes back with sharper tongue.

A senior BJP general secretary said “Mamata organizes rallies all over Bengal with police protection. But Dilip da just turns up in villages, and women leave their cooking to see him. The youth run to the rallies. It is amazing.

Whether you like it or not, Dilip has given people the strength to combat Mamata, says another BJP leader. There have been many attempts on his life. But he has not cared, and has set such examples that the people have now created a wall of resistance against Trinamool in the rural areas.

Dilip works from morning till midnight with a discipline that has drawn appreciation from the party’s leadership. BJP National Secretary Arvind Menon says: “I have seen very few leaders who are so dedicated. Menon is in-charge of the party in Bengal. If the BJP does win, will Dilip be the Chief Minister? Menon did not want to talk about it but the prominence given to Dilip on the party posters is an indication that he is the main contender.

Dilip has transformed the BJP’s organizational machinery in just few years. It was non-existent when the Left Front was in power for three decades. In the last five years Dilip has drafted a lot of communist cadres into the BJP as well as some of their important leaders.

RSS insiders say he has the ability to make hard choices and is unwavering in his objectives. He once declined a ministership in Modi government, preferring to focus on his plan to oust Mamata.

If elected, Dilip would be first Bengali Chief Minister fluent in Hindi and the first one who was not educated in Kolkata. He once said he had a diploma from a polytechnic college but the college denied having any record on studying there. (IPA Service)