Yesterday, in a surprise political development, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met PM Modi. This was against the run of play given the kind of animosity that she harboured in her public utterances about PM Modi. However, this meeting seemed rather cordial as the West Bengal CM was seen carrying a kurta and sweets before the meeting to greet the country’s Prime Minister a day after his birthday.
Even after the meeting, the TMC supremo seemed to have maintained her softened stance towards PM Modi. She said that her meeting with the Prime Minister was satisfactory and fruitful. She also said, “I have urged PM Modi to come and inaugurate world’s second largest coal block which is coming to West Bengal.”
Her attitude during the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls was in sharp contrast to what is being witnessed now. At that time, she was pretty vocal in criticism of the BJP and PM Modi, which often escalated into personal comments. However, it became clear that such comments proved counter-productive for her during the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP was able to emerge as a major political power in the state winning 18 out of 42 seats in the state. This automatically came as a threat to TMC’s popularity in the state.
Having realised what went wrong during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, she now seems to be bringing about a remarkable shift in her attitude towards PM Modi.
It must also be noted that after the Lok Sabha poll results, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had roped in political strategist Prashant Kishor, who reportedly advised Mamata Banerjee to tone down her anti-BJP rhetoric and asked her to concentrate on developmental work. She was asked not to be in the election mode all the time. The considerable watering down in her animosity towards PM Modi shows that the West Bengal CM has taken Kishor’s advice seriously.
Before the Lok Sabha polls, the West Bengal CM had kicked up a controversy by stating, “Sweets? I’ll send him roshogolla made of mud with pebbles mixed in so that he loses his teeth.” This remark was directed towards PM Modi. It had come after PM Modi had said in an interview that the TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee sends him kurtas and sweets at least once a year. However, the remark does not seem to have done her any good as the Mamata ruled TMC was reduced to 22 seats in the state of West Bengal- a sharp decline from the 34 seats it had won in the 2014 polls. This has now clearly triggered a remarkable change in the Trinamool supremo’s image. From the pebbles-mud comment, she has moved towards gifting kurta and sweets.
The opposition, in general, might have realised that slandering PM Modi with such humongous public mandate is going to be counter-productive. The opposition incurred heavy costs for cursing PM Modi ahead of the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. And now the costs are going to be heavier.
With a second tenure in power and an even bigger mandate, PM Modi has sealed his position as a statesman. During his first term, the opposition felt the liberty of being dismissive towards him but with the solid position that he now enjoys, being dismissive is no longer an option. This phenomenon is much more pronounced in case of Mamata Banerjee. The BJP has made inroads in the state of West Bengal, which was once considered her stronghold.
The West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s next aim is the 2021 assembly polls in West Bengal. Her challenger is still the BJP but for the reasons aforesaid her strategy is going to be different from the 2019 polls. Personal remarks against PM Modi would most probably not figure in her poll campaign. Her criticism of PM Modi can be expected to be limited to policy matters.
