Now being the rare political leader prohibited from campaigning by the Election Commission without being given a hearing, Rahul Sinha, 57, has so far been known for another dubious distinction: of having contested nine Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in his long political career without winning any.
The Trinamool has often underlined Sinhas failure to cross this electoral hurdle in its campaign against the BJP. This time, the BJP leader, who stepped down as its Bengal chief in 2015 after two terms, is contesting from Habra in North 24 Parganas district that votes on April 22.
The Sitalkuchi statement was not Sinhas first brush with controversy over his remarks. In 2017, Sinha had accused the CBI of assaulting the late TMC MP Tapas Paul following the latters arrest in the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam. In February this year, the BJP leader said unemployment ran so high in Bengal that brothels in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai were filled with women from the state.
While the BJP has risen as a serious political player in Bengal only now, Sinha has been with the party in the state since it evolved into the BJP from Jan Sangh in 1980. He was elected state president in 2009 and 2012, and hence headed the party when it broke new ground in Bengal winning two Lok Sabha seats in 2014. Sinha was succeeded by Dilip Ghosh in 2015 and made the national secretary of the BJP.
Last year, Sinha was dropped as national secretary too. The party said it was a routine reshuffle. Sinha had made his displeasure at the decision evident, threatening so far as to quit the party. The BJP central leadership had stepped in to placate Sinha.