TMC worried perception of possible loss gaining ground in Bengal

West Bengal’s ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), which is facing a resurgent BJP, is battling the “mahol” (perception) that the voters of the state want to see a change in government. This perception is gaining ground every day.

TMC strategists, who spoke to The Sunday Guardian, stated that the perception that the voters wanted a change was “clearly visible” and could be attributed to 10 years of anti-incumbency and “negative” image of at least 60-75 sitting MLAS of the ruling party.

“If someone is saying there is no anti-incumbency, he is lying. It is there and we are going to handle it by denying tickets to many sitting MLAS. Also, there is a ‘mahol’ for change that is there on the ground, it is more prominent in seats where there is anger against the sitting MLA. Didi (Mamata Banerjee) too is aware of it and we are tackling it,” a party strategist told The Sunday Guardian.

He pointed to corruption directly impacting the voters, done by party workers, district level leaders and MLAS, and the rampant use of violence as a political tool as the two main issues that have dented the party’s image and prospects. The use of violence as a tool, according to party insiders, was promoted allegedly by Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of Mamata Banerjee. According to him, the party has, however, started damage control exercises, of which the recently launched “Duare Sarkar” (government at your doorstep) was a prominent step. The second step, as per party sources, will be to deny tickets to “errant” MLAS.

“When you look at things at a macro level, the governthe