Mamata Banerjee’s gambit to ditch INDIA in West Bengal, ‘go ekla’ splits votes in her favour
■ Dec 1984 : A young greenhorn Congress worker from Kalighat — wearing a sari and hawai chappals — has just done the unbelievable, defeating CPM veteran Somnath Chatterjee from Jadavpur, the reddest of red citadels. Mamata Banerjee herself seems surprised and pundits attribute her victory to the sympathy wave that Congress benefited from after Indira Gandhi’s assassination
■ May 2024: Mamata Banerjee is canvassing for votes at Jadavpur’s Baro Bhooter Math (translated as the “ground belonging to a dozen ghosts”). She can work up the crowd to her will and asks for this seat once more so that she can help INDIA bloc in Lok Sabha, never mind that the alliance is not on in Bengal
In a political career of five decades, Banerjee has proved her critics wrong multiple times. After a bruis ing, months-long campaign, with her party winning 29 seats in Bengal — its second best Lok Sabha performance after 2014 when it won 34 — she has had the last laugh again. The tally has gone up substantially from 22 in 2019.
Leading the party with 108 public rallies and multiple road shows, one of which saw her walk 12km at a stretch on her south Kolkata home turf, Banerjee, 69, criss-crossed from Coochbehar in the northernmost extreme to South 24 Parganas, where Bengal meets the Bay of Bengal. She went to Nandigram, where she lost in 2021 (a legal battle is still on over BJP’s alleged electoral malpractices). And Sandeshkhali, where her partymen have been accused of rape and land-grab, before sting videos threw up a counter-narrative of allegations being “BJP-engineered”.
This journey, where PM Modi’s campaign has tried to shift the burden of anti-incumbency to the state govt, was to reach the hearts of Bengal’s women (through schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar) and its minorities (with about a quarter of the state’s votes), even trying to establish Trinamool as a nativist party of the Bengali-Hindu majority through references to Durga Puja (now a Unescorecognised “intangible cultural heritage”) and the legacy of Swami Vivekananda.
Questioned for her decision to go solo, which had the potential to split traditional minority votes, Banerjee has been proven right — the community stood rock solid behind her. By splitting the Bengal battle into a three-way contest, Trinamool’s gains outweigh its losses. In the close contests which went its way, Congress-Left vote shares were higher than Trinamool’s victory margins, indicating a split in anti-Trina mool votes. Difference in vote share in 2024 between Trinamool and BJP has widened to 10%.
With a final tally of 29 seats — third highest among opposition parties in India (after Congress and SP) — it gains more elbow room in INDIA bloc. That Left-Congress barely scraped through with one seat in Bengal also vindicates a pre-poll offer by Banerjee for 2-3 seats. The results may settle the unease in the Congress-Trinamool relationship. Banerjee has already said she disapproves of the way CPM “monitors” Congress in INDIA bloc.
Finally, the Trinamool win sets up a lot of expectations. Most importantly, Banerjee has promised to ease the central fund flow into MGNREGA in Bengal. Her social schemes have been a defining factor. A weakened BJP at the Centre, and a stronger INDIA bloc, allows her to go beyond the anti-Centre pitch and get work done.
Videos
08:43 How Maharashtra Poll Result Could Be Bellwether For BJP; Abhijit Iyer Mitra Decodes02:15 BJP’s Ayodhya Debacle: How Dalit Revolt Against Saffron Party Resulted In Shock Verdict03:33 NDA's Maharashtra Partners Upset With MoS Post In Modi 3.003:02 Modi 3.0 Cabinet Portfolios Out: Home, Defence, Finance, Foreign Affairs With BJP03:41 Narendra Modi Takes Oath As India's Prime Minister For Historic Third Consecutive Term06:29 'Failed To Cross 100...': Modi Mocks 'Loser' INDIA Bloc At Mega NDA Meeting04:55 'Congress Back To Old Ways': Next Move After Lok Sabha Election Result Decoded | Watch04:41 UCC, Farm Laws & More: Key Decisions By PM Modi In NDA 3.0 | 'Allies To Dictate Terms'03:49 'BJP Lost U.P. Due To Non-Performing MPs' Biggest Biggest Poll Debacle | Watch03:06 Khalistan Protesters In Canada Stun With New Indira Gandhi Assassination Float; India Fumes
Leading the party with 108 public rallies and multiple road shows, one of which saw her walk 12km at a stretch on her south Kolkata home turf, Banerjee, 69, criss-crossed from Coochbehar in the northernmost extreme to South 24 Parganas, where Bengal meets the Bay of Bengal. She went to Nandigram, where she lost in 2021 (a legal battle is still on over BJP’s alleged electoral malpractices). And Sandeshkhali, where her partymen have been accused of rape and land-grab, before sting videos threw up a counter-narrative of allegations being “BJP-engineered”.
This journey, where PM Modi’s campaign has tried to shift the burden of anti-incumbency to the state govt, was to reach the hearts of Bengal’s women (through schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar) and its minorities (with about a quarter of the state’s votes), even trying to establish Trinamool as a nativist party of the Bengali-Hindu majority through references to Durga Puja (now a Unescorecognised “intangible cultural heritage”) and the legacy of Swami Vivekananda.
Questioned for her decision to go solo, which had the potential to split traditional minority votes, Banerjee has been proven right — the community stood rock solid behind her. By splitting the Bengal battle into a three-way contest, Trinamool’s gains outweigh its losses. In the close contests which went its way, Congress-Left vote shares were higher than Trinamool’s victory margins, indicating a split in anti-Trina mool votes. Difference in vote share in 2024 between Trinamool and BJP has widened to 10%.
Finally, the Trinamool win sets up a lot of expectations. Most importantly, Banerjee has promised to ease the central fund flow into MGNREGA in Bengal. Her social schemes have been a defining factor. A weakened BJP at the Centre, and a stronger INDIA bloc, allows her to go beyond the anti-Centre pitch and get work done.
Top Comment
User Iyer
29 days ago
Two ways to garner votes; In Bengal, it is either ballots or bullets. Extortion, thuggery, poll violence are norms to win. Look at the opposition workers who have to seek sanctuary at safe places. What does that tell you?Read allPost comment
Popular from City
- The hit job was over in 5 minutes: Chilling details of TN BSP chief Armstrong's murder
- Hit-and-run: Speeding BMW allegedly driven by Sena leader's son rams into bike, drags woman on bonnet
- But shoppers finally get to drive up to New Mkt
- Mumbai developer Yusuf Lakdawala's son arrested in Rs 45 crore cheating case
- ‘No point hanging around in party’: Former West Bengal party chief Dilip Ghosh hints at BJP exit
end of article
Expand
Trending Stories
- Aries, Daily Horoscope Today, July 8, 2024: Stars favor home, property purchases, and socialising
- Drew McIntyre could face CM Punk at SummerSlam 2024
- WWE Tag Team switches name ahead of NXT Heatwave
- Three opponents John Cena could face leading up to his retirement at wrestlemania 41.
- 5 best moments from the Money in the Bank 2024
- Major Announcement: WWE's Popular Show Is Making a Comeback
- 5 best moments from the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match
Visual Stories
- Unforgettable train journeys across India’s best landscape
- 10 prominent fishes in Indian rivers
- 10 fishes that can be kept in small home aquariums
- 9 beautiful monsoon flowers to brighten up your home garden
- How to make anti-ageing natural Botox gel with flaxseed
UP NEXT