Family members of Makhanlal Sarkar, one of the most veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in West Bengal, expressed pride and happiness on Saturday, 9 May after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took Sarkar's blessings during the swearing-in ceremony of Suvendu Adhikari as the state's ninth Chief Minister. For a family that has watched their patriarch dedicate decades to grassroots political work, the gesture from the country's highest office was an emotional milestone.

A Lifetime Devoted to the Sangh

Sarkar's daughter Sanchita Basak recalled that her father joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a young man and remained steadfast to its principles throughout his life. "When we were young, he used to be a member of the RSS. He did a lot for the party. Today, when the BJP government was formed, we felt that all his hard work has paid off," she said. Basak added that despite receiving overtures from rival parties, her father never wavered. "Even leaders from other political parties, including Trinamool Congress, CPI-M and Congress, respected my father," she noted.

Ties to a Founding Figure

The family's political legacy runs deep. Sarkar's son Maniklal Sarkar said his father got associated with the Sangh at the age of 16 and went on to work closely with Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the BJP's ideological founding figure, for several years. "He was even arrested for singing the national anthem," Maniklal said. He also disclosed that Sarkar played a key role in establishing the BJP's Darjeeling unit — a politically significant constituency in north Bengal. Sanchita further mentioned that the late veteran BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj used to write letters to her father, and that Sarkar had gone to jail alongside Mookerjee.

A Man of Principle and Simplicity

Maniklal offered a telling anecdote about his father's integrity: during the tenure of late Prime Minister Morarji Desai, a travel permit from Siliguri to Gangtok was granted to Sarkar by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways. Sarkar reportedly surrendered the permit at a court in Siliguri, declaring, "I don't take up party work for money." "He never deviated from the principles of RSS. Everyone in our neighbourhood knows that he is an honest man and has always led a simple life," Maniklal asserted.

The Family's Reaction

Putul Sarkar, Makhanlal's wife, said her husband had struggled for many years without seeking recognition. "He never spoke much about the party's work at home but he used to read books of Syama Prasad Mookerjee," she said. Daughter-in-law Minu Sarkar noted that over her 25 years of marriage into the family, she had seen her father-in-law attend every party meeting he was called to, without exception. "It has been 25 years of my marriage and I have seen him attending every meeting, whenever he was called, throughout all these years," she said. Maniklal summed up the family's sentiment simply: "We never thought that the Prime Minister of the country will show so much respect to my father."

What This Moment Signals

The public acknowledgement of Sarkar by PM Modi at such a visible occasion underscores the BJP's effort to honour its long-serving ground-level workers in West Bengal — a state where the party has worked to build its base over several decades against entrenched Left and Trinamool Congress dominance. For the Sarkar family, the moment represents not just personal validation, but a recognition of a generation of quiet, unglamorous political commitment.