With two electoral battles looming over West Bengal in the next two years beginning 2020, political activities by ruling Trinamool Congress and its principal challenger Bharatiya Janata Party are intensifying.
In the run up to the poll to 104 civic bodies across the state next year and the assembly elections in 2021, the Mamata Banerjee-led party is besieged by a two-pronged attack—with the BJP on one hand and Governor Jagdeep Dhankar appointed by the BJP-led government at the Centre on the other. This is as per a pre-determined political strategy.
The latest face-off since being appointed Governor in July this year was triggered by Dhankar who, in an unusually str
ong critique of the Mamata
government earlier this week, lashed out at the manner in which he was “blacked out” from live television coverage of the Durga Puja carnival organized by the West Bengal government on October 11.
He used strong words like “censorship” and “intolerance” in attacking the government. Interestingly, his diatribe came full three days after the event in the back drop of reports that West Bengal unit of the BJP is not happy with the Governor being “too soft” on the state government.
The BJP backed Dhankar in his sharp criticism of the Mamata government on the TV coverage issue, Trinamool Congress said the Governor’s critical remarks were “unbecoming” of the constitutional head of the state.
The first time Dhankar and the Trinamool Congress government were involved in a stand-off was in August when he wen to Jadavpur University to rescue BJP lawmaker and federal minister Babul Supriyo who was manhandled by protesting students and prevented from exiting the campus.
Soon afterwards during his visit to Siliguri in north Bengal, Dhankar claimed senior district officials were conspicuous by their absence at a meeting presided by him there. On Tuesday last, when a man, claimed to be a RSS activist, his wife and son were killed in Jiagunj, the Governor said it was reflective of the “worrisome” law and order situation in West Bengal. His comment drew a sharp reaction from the Trinamool Congress which has accused Dhankar of making political statements
every day.
A BJP team led by party general secretary Kailash Vijaybhargiya, in charge of West Bengal affairs, met Indian President Ram
Nath Kovind in New Delhi on October 15 and apprised him of the “deteriorating” law and order in the state.
The delegation impressed upon Kovind to seek a report from Dhankar a report on the law and order, a move the saffron party believes would help the
Governor make more pro-active and keep the law and order issue in focus ahead of the civic
bodies poll.
The Trinamool rank and file have already hit the campaign ground after district and block-level presidents of the party met in Kolkata to discuss the civic poll campaign strategy.
There is concern within the ruling party that being in power for the last eights years there has been a gap between them and the people at the grassroot and to bridge that gap it was necessary to reach out to as many of Bengal’s 1.6 crore households as possible on a regular basis.
In the run up to the civic body poll, Trinamool Congress got a boost as it regained control over Naihati municipality from the BJP following its victory in the trust vote recently in the 31-member municipality, located in North 24 Parganas district.
After the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when BJP had bagged 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, 18 out of the 31 councillors of the civic body including its vice-chairman had switched sides to the BJP which gave the effective control over it to the saffron party. But within two months, 10 of the turncoats rejoined the Trinamool Congress and alleged that
they were forced to join the BJP at gunpoint - a charge denied by
the BJP.
Reacting to the development in Naihati municipality, senior BJP leader Mukul Roy, who had played a key role in the defections, accused TMC of using both
political and administrative powers to force the councillors to rejoin the party.
According to state BJP sources, the party has been left red-faced by the latest developments and feels that taking leaders of Trinamool Congress and other parties without background check into its fold had led to the embarrassing situation.
Since the parliamentary polls earlier this year, the BJP had taken effective control of seven
municipal bodies, including in Naihati, with a majority of the councillors of the civic bodies joining the party.
However, in the last two months except for Bhatpara municipality, which is BJP lawmaker Arjun Singh's stronghold, all the
six other municipal bodies
have returned to the Trinamool Congress’ control.
Pallab Bhattacharya is a
journalist based in India
