The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leaving no stone unturned to wrest the state of West Bengal from the hands of the Trinamool Congress. The TMC, which is fighting the most important elections since it was formed, faces an unprecedented uphill task to retain the state. Despite the Mamata-led TMC calling the BJP an ‘outsider’ in Bengal, and by inference, calling all non-Bengalis in the state ‘outsiders’ too, the chief minister has shot herself in the foot. The BJP has thus decided to capitalise upon the growing resentment against the TMC among Hindi-speaking, or in general, non-Bengali residents of West Bengal.
So, the BJP has marshalled an entire contingent of leaders from Rajasthan, with the sole motive of wooing the Marwari residents of West Bengal, who have been settled in the state for over 150 years. The Marwari community in Bengal has emerged as one which every political party tries to win over prior to elections. The community has a sway in over a dozen seats of West Bengal, according to a report by News 18. So, the BJP has brought in close to 50 leaders from Rajasthan to convince the Marwaris of Bengal to vote in the party’s favour.
The main responsibilities to achieve the same have been given to Rajasthan Assembly deputy leader Rajendra Rathore and BJP state unit executive member Bhajanlal Sharma. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has also been deployed by the BJP in the state to canvass votes for the party. Other leaders who have been sent to West Bengal from Rajasthan, with the sole motive of winning the confidence of the Marwari community are Dhanraj Solanki, Manish Parik, Neeraj Jain, among others.
Needless to say, the BJP has made such strategic moves, to ensure that the Marwari community votes en masse on the symbol of lotus on polling days, at a time when the fight for Bengal is reaching its final stages. The same would have most certainly caught Mamata Banerjee off guard and clueless, who will rest assured, try to replicate the BJP’s strategy. However, by playing the insider-outsider- card early on during the campaign, the TMC and its supremo will find it magnificently difficult to win over the Marwari community.
Mamata Banerjee is bound to realise the perils of mindlessly playing the toxic sub-nationalism card against the BJP – whose core ideology is that of Indian nationalism, rising over and above regional identities and pride. It is now too late for the TMC to resort to damage control. It should instead focus on training its celebrities for being politicians who can win constituencies.