BJP which made massive inroads into the state of West Bengal during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, now seems to be in full swing for the Assembly polls to be held after one and half years from now. The party has reportedly started identifying four candidates to be groomed for each of the 294 assembly constituencies. As the elections will approach closer, the party will select appropriate candidates out of the four potential choices for every constituency.
It must be noted that the BJP which remained marginalised in Bengal politics only till very recently made a grand leap during the 2019 Parliamentary polls this when it secured 40% vote share falling merely 3 percentage points below that of the Mamata led party. It won 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats pulling down TMC’s tally in the state. This has demonstrated the party’s capability of dislodging the ruling party in West Bengal.
The Mamata Banerjee led government in West Bengal is facing a massive anti-incumbemcy wave in the state and it also seems to have lost the plot at a critical juncture which has further bolstered BJP’s chances in the state. The latest indicator of the state government losing the plot came when violent protests against Union Minister Babul Supriyo from entering the Jadavpur University campus, met with no real action from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The state almost went on autopilot mode with the Chief Minister in Delhi and the ministers and bureaucrats not taking any action. What made matters worse for the state government was Supriyo’s allegation that the University Vice-Chancellor refusing to call the place and stating that he would quit rather than call the police.
It must be noted that in the recent past, West Bengal has witnessed a sharp rise in political violence with the Mamata Banerjee led TMC facing accusations of committing and abetting violence against its political opponents. In the run up to the Lok Sabha polls, the state witnessed several incidents of poll violence including the infamous incident when Amit Shah’s rally was marred by political violence. However, the TMC failed to stop the BJP which emerged as a major political power during the Lok Sabha polls. BJP is growing in popularity among all professions within the state cutting across the intelligentsia, film industry, even football clubs, etc. This is suggestive of a major political shift in the state.
While the BJP has started preparing with a coherent political strategy, the TMC looks lacklustre even though it embarked on a PR exercise after roping in political strategist Prashant Kishor. The BJP seems set for a huge political victory and as per the party leaders a recent survey conducted by an independent agencies, the party would emerge victorious on 165 assembly seats if assembly polls were to be held today which would help it in comfortably crossing the majority mark in the 294-member assembly. Moreover, the party had led on 121 assembly polls during the Parliamentary elections earlier this year showing its strong political presence.
