In Bengal, you cannot miss the BJP flags. Not too lengthy again, they had been hardly seen, however on this election, they’re fluttering away in each constituency – a daring assertion in a state the place it received solely two seats in 2014, reports TNN. True, Trinamool flags nonetheless outnumber the saffron ones, however on this former Left citadel, BJP flags far outnumber CPM and Congress ones, a transparent indication that the get together is in for a severe battle this time spherical.
The saffron get together management claims it’s specializing in about 20 of the 42 constituencies within the state. With the Left and Congress having withered in Bengal, BJP is actually hoping to faucet into anti-incumbency and mop up all of the anti-Mamata votes. However, BJP, which is new to Bengal, has one main drawback: it doesn’t have too many recognisable candidates or leaders.
Even BJP election managers, midway into the polls, are nonetheless unfamiliar with the names of candidates in addition to constituencies. To run the final leg of its marketing campaign, BJP has introduced in its senior RSS chief, Sunil Deodhar, credited with delivering Tripura to the get together by ousting a powerful Left regime.
Even Trinamool insiders agree that BJP will find yourself second within the state, that was dominated for 34 years by the Left events earlier than Mamata Banerjee received in 2011. Even through the Left rule, Bengal had a fair proportion of Congress help in pockets. The get together is in a detailed battle with Trinamool in at the least 10 seats: Raiganj, Darjeeling, Alipurduar within the north, Malda Uttar, Malda Dakshin, Asansol in central Bengal, and Barrackpore, Krishnanagar, Basirhat and Kolkata Uttar within the south.
With a four-cornered contest within the north and central components of Bengal, the place each Congress and Left have some presence, BJP hopes to learn from a break up within the anti-Mamata votes, whereas within the southern seats, that are Trinamool bastions, it’s extra of a direct battle with Mamata Banerjee’s get together.
BJP is banking on infighting inside Trinamool in lots of constituencies. Whereas Mamata Banerjee has tried to handle the factional feuds in her get together by fielding outsiders or new entrants like celebrities — actors Mimi Chakraborty (Jadavpur) and Nusrat Jahan (Basirhat) — BJP leaders declare the disgruntled Trinamool cadre are prepared to assist the saffron get together as it’s the strongest opponent within the state right now, to ship out a warning to its management earlier than the following meeting polls slated for 2021.
BJP can also be banking on the “578 corporations of central forces to be deployed throughout the state for each sales space to make sure peaceable elections”, in keeping with the get together’s ballot managers. BJP received simply two seats in Bengal – Darjeeling and Asansol – out of 42 in 2014 when the Narendra Modi wave swept the remainder of the nation. However, its vote share went as much as 17% from simply 4% within the state polls in 2011.
With its stronghold states within the Hindi heartland having delivered a saturated mandate in 2014, and confronted with an apparent anti-incumbency issue after 5 years of Modi rule, BJP is seeking to garner help from areas the place it’s a comparatively new entity, in comparison with tried and examined events like Congress and the Left Entrance in Bengal. Aside from Bengal, BJP is taking a look at Odisha to make up for its potential loss within the heartland.
