Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid an emotional tribute to 98-year-old veteran BJP worker Makhanlal Sarkar by touching his feet and seeking his blessings during the swearing-in ceremony of West Bengal’s first BJP government at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground.
The gesture came moments before Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the state’s first BJP chief minister since Independence. The moment quickly drew attention on social media and among party workers, with many describing it as a symbolic acknowledgment of the BJP’s old guard in Bengal. But who is Makhanlal Sarkar?
According to reports, Makhanlal Sarkar
is regarded as one of the BJP’s oldest grassroots leaders in West Bengal. He has long been associated with the nationalist movement. During the early years after Independence, he was actively involved in political movements linked to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
Sarkar had accompanied Mookerjee during the 1952 movement in Kashmir to hoist the Indian tricolour and was arrested during the agitation, according to a HT report. Over the decades, he remained associated with the party organisation in Bengal and is seen within BJP circles as a symbol of ideological commitment and organisational loyalty.
Visuals from the ceremony showed Modi walking up to the elderly party worker, bowing before him and touching his feet. The PM then embraced him. Senior BJP leaders present at the venue applauded the interaction as supporters cheered from the gathering.
The event was held on Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary, “Pochishe Boishakh”, which BJP leaders described as culturally and politically significant.