As the ‘Poorest CM” Manik Sarkar loses Tripura, Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata shivers with the fear of losing Bengal
Manik Sarkar of Tripura was branded as the “poorest” Chief Minister of India. On March 3 Manik lost his maiden identity. Now Mamata, who is in the field with another adjective “Hawai Chappal” Chief Minister, is shivering with fear as she is apprehending to lose this prefix as well. Saugata Roy, a reporter of Times of India, while reporting election results of Tripura commented: “The Saffron Tsunami in Tripura’s red citadel posed a challenge to Mamata Banerjee who hit headlines by devouring the Left in West Bengal in 2011.”
When this situation was actually created, she was taken aback with great shock. She started abusing one and all in the Modi’s party. Even Modi was not spared. It is useless to quote those unparliamentarily languages. But, it was apparent that she was very much perturbed with the result of Tripura. She told a member of state Assembly that “she would have been happy if CPM could win the election.” People may ask, under this situation, whether she is maintaining her mental balance or not.
Nevertheless it is true that she had got the signal much earlier that the end of Left rule in Tripura is imminent. So, she suggested that the Congress should come into an understanding with CPM. But Rahul Gandhi did not agree. She said it was but natural that Rahul Gandhi’s party was decimated to big zero.
But then Banerjee is not new to a BJP-RSS offensive. She gave it to a solo fight to the BJP during the Modi-wave of 2014 and took on BJP on the one hand and Congress–CPM conglomeration on the other in the 2016 Assembly election and came out with flying colours. Her next test is coming as Bengal Panchayat polls.
In all the elections held in Bengal since 2011 BJP has improved its vote share at the cost of the Left Front’s vote share sliding from 40.22 per cent in 2011 Assembly polls to 29 per cent in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and further down to 25.8 per cent in 2016 Assembly polls. But BJP has not been able to dent Trinamool’s ascending vote share.
BJP state Chief Dilip Ghose believes the party will make it possible from the coming Panchayat polls. “Like in Tripura things will start changing in the next six months. Didi is thus worried. So she wanted CPM to win Tripura polls. She is giving a lifeline to CPM and Congress to arrest BJP in Bengal,” Ghose said.
Yet, the Left debacle in Tripura throws up certain vulnerable areas for Trinamool leaders to take note of.
1) Most important among them are the Janjati areas in the foothills of North Bengal—Kalchini, Falakata, Madaihat, Dhupguri, Mal, Nagrakata—and the Janjati areas in Jangalmahal, West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, parts of Birbhum, Malda, and the two Dinajpurs. BJP and RSS have already made impressive dents in these areas following the models the party has taken up for Janjatis, SC/STs across the country. It has borne rich dividends in Tripura.
2) The second most vulnerable area is Hindu refugee areas. where people went with the Left and now are gravitating towards BJP. The Left’s erosion in refugee belts has contributed to BJP’s rise there to a large extent.
3) And the Hindutva concept is getting traction among the Bengali educated middle class groomed in a secular atmosphere.
4) Mamata Banerjee is aware of it. She is thus frequently visiting Jangalmahal and North Bengal to see that government goodies reach the beneficiaries fast. She is also desperate to fetch investments in Bengal and stop educated youths’ migration.
Now Mamata Banerjee’s TMC has bee put up in a tight corner for the simple reason that the onslaught has started coming from BJP in a more sophisticated and organised way.
— Asim Kumar Mitra
