Lt Gen Subrata Saha, BJP Wields Balakot Strategist for Rashbehari Seat

There’s a strategic Balakot surprise in the BJP’s candidate list for the upcoming assembly elections. Lieutenant General Subrata Saha has found a place in the last 11 nominations. Feilding Saha to the polls is being considered a BJP’s masterstroke in political circles. It is difficult to find a better face than his to evoke memories of Balakot. Known to be one of the strategists of the Balakot attack, Gen Saha is currently in Delhi. He was desperate to return to Calcutta immediately to start campaigning. Talking to News18 Bangla, he expressed confidence. “I will think and determine the strategy. I will listen to the people in the area with my mind,” he said.

Lt Gen Subrata Saha is a member of the National Security Advisory Board and has been the Deputy Chief of Army Staff. He is regarded as the architect of the Balakot strike. On February 26, 2019, Indian Air Force fighter jets crossed the Line of Control and destroyed terror launch pads in Balakot in Pakistan. The strikes were undertaken days after 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14.

He has received multiple medals for bravery and has worked in conflict regions of Kashmir for a long time. He is well known for his good relations with the people of Kashmir.

The BJP in its fight against the ruling TMC government, is aiming to combine patriotic sentiments with Bengali sentiments in the upcoming West Bengal elections. According to political observers, Saha is fielded as one of the most qualified face of the BJP for the Rashbehari constituency.

Saha, who grew up in Bengal, can speak Bengali fluently despite being away from the state due to his career. Nominating him in a growing region like Rashbehari would mean creating a mixture of Bengali gentleness with nationalist sentiments. Whether the ice will melt, of course, is a million-dollar question.