Intro: Ruling party of the State Trinamool Congress or for that matter Mamata Banerjee is planning to prepone the State Assembly Elections from 2016 to 2015.
Political scenario in West Bengal is fast changing as the fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling party Trinamool Congress (TMC) has taken a peculiar turn. Both the parties are over enthusiastic in abusing each other and sometimes it is crossing the limits of decency and decorum. So far the language used by BJP leaders against the ruling party has been within the limit of decorum. Recently BJP leader Siddhartha Nath Singh, in charge of party’s State organisational affairs in West Bengal, has amended his own slogan which said Bhag Madan Bhag in 2014, Bhag Mukul Bhag in 2015 and ultimately Bhag Mamata Bhag in 2016. Singh said, “My prediction about Madan Mitra, Transport Minister of the State was correct. He has found his place in jail.”
After the arrest of Madan Mitra, Mamata Banerjee fumed by saying that this has been a part of a deep rooted conspiracy hatched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She had further noted that if that has not been so, how could a party functionary Siddhartha Nath Singh could predict the fate of our Transport Minister? Now, he is predicting my fate, what an audacity!
In support of Banerjee’s decision to prepone the Assembly elections she would be able to successfully put forward the argument that the BJP with clandestine help of the Centre, is trying to destabilise TMC ruled State government. Mamata camp is very much concerned with the BJP’s propaganda under such a situation. It is but natural that BJP would capture the seat of power in the State. Not only is this, Mamata camp believes that with the help of the Centre BJP has already been successful in infiltrating in the administration and the police force and a very forceful section of the media supporting them to accomplish this goal. Mamata is sure that if she prepones the Assembly elections BJP would be decimated to, if not to zero, classic disappointment. In this way she wants to convincingly close the big mouth of Siddhartha Nath Singh and others once for all.
The counter points to the perception of Didi are still stronger as Didi had never completed her assignment as a minister for full term. How could she be a Chief Minister for full term? In fact Mamata had confided to one of her close friends: “I would be a disaster as Chief Minister” and this was published in The Hindustan Times just after the last Assembly elections in an interview taken by journalist Sumit Mitra. Hence, with such a track record, one can naturally come to the conclusion that Didi would not complete her term as Chief Minister.
Then in a recent TV interview, when Siddhartha Nath Singh said that, “Many of her (Mamata’s) confidantes are regularly keeping their contacts with the BJP leaders for the purpose of shifting allegiance to BJP, Mamata visibly becomes very much worried. Is it a signal for the “one man Party” TMC to break into pieces?” Singh further added there are many TMC MLAs and MPs in the list of persons meeting BJP leaders.
Left parties in the State are keeping close watch on the developing situation with a view to ‘fish in the troubled water’. But the fact remains that the vote-bank politics of all these parties have received a cruel hit from the largest minority group—the Muslims (they constitute about 30 per cent of the total voters of the State) as quite a good section of them has joined BJP. Political pundits are of the opinion that the division in traditional Muslim votes is a definite possibility. Hence, the results would be unpredictable. But Mamata camp believes that early Assembly poll would assure them with at least 20 per cent Muslim votes. If they can manage at least 22 per cent from among the remaining votes, then no power on earth can stop them from assuming power.
Meanwhile membership campaign in Odisha (BJP) is showing good results. It has already touched 25 lakh and it is expected that it would reach up to 86 lakh.
Everything said and done, the sentiment of Bengali people for BJP is now all time high. —Asim Kumar Mitra from Kolkata
