Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre) with Satish Dhond, state joint secretary (organisation) of West Bengal’s Asansol kendra and BJP West Bengal leader Suvendu Adhikari (right)
Panaji: From scripting BJP’s landmark victory in the 2012 Goa assembly elections, Satish Dhond, state joint secretary (organisation) of West Bengal’s Asansol Kendra, has once again stamped his authority in the high-octane West Bengal polls.Dhond, who hails from Bicholim, has been working in Trinamool Congress strongholds since 2022, overseeing 126 assembly constituencies across West Bengal.Of these, BJP secured victories in 107 seats, including the high-profile Nandigram constituency, where party leader Suvendu Adhikari was in the fray.For the past five months, Dhond worked relentlessly on the ground in West Bengal without returning to his home state. Having grown up in the iron ore mining belt of Bicholim, he has traversed a long journey to script electoral successes in Asansol’s coal region.Known for his hands-on approach, Dhond has consistently immersed himself in the trenches of political battles to deliver results.A veteran party organiser, Dhond was shifted out of the state in 2015 during Manohar Parrikar’s tenure as chief minister.Later, when Parrikar fell ill, then BJP national president Amit Shah brought Dhond back to stabilise the party amid internal dissidence.In the 2022 Goa assembly elections, he played a key role in helping BJP return to power. Earlier in 2015, he also contributed to the party’s organisational strengthening in Maharashtra’s Thane and Konkan regions.Dhond had earlier been brought back ahead of the 2012 Goa elections following the party’s poor performance in 2007, when it failed to secure a majority. Under his organisational stewardship, BJP won 21 seats in 2012, forming govt on its own for the first time. Although he was in Goa during the 2007 elections, he was not actively involved in party management at the time.Following that defeat, Dhond was transferred to Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, regions then dominated by Congress. There too, he helped BJP make significant inroads and achieve electoral success.Deputed by the RSS, Dhond has served as a crucial link between the organisation and the party. He also held the position of general secretary (organisation) when BJP first formed govt in Goa under Parrikar in 2000 and again in 2002. Dhond was not in Goa when the party’s tally dropped to 13 seats in the 2017 assembly elections.
