Mamata loses key Nandigram seat
This election, said some Trinamool MPS, can be a launching pad for the West Bengal CM to harbour national ambitions
HT Correspondent
KOLKATA:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendhu Adhikari on Sunday sprang a surprise after he retained his Nandigram seat in West Bengal in the assembly elections, albeit a slender margin of just 1,200 votes, against his former boss Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.
However, Banerjee claimed that she the Election of Commission of India (ECI) first declared her winner by over 1,600 votes and then retracted to say that her protege-turned-rival Adhikari won the prestigious seat.
Banerjee alleged that some “mischief” happened in Nandigram, asserting that she will move court against it.
“We have won so big in Bengal but I respect the verdict of the people of Nandigram. Let people of Nandigram decide. Whatever their verdict is, I accept that. It is okay,” she said.
“But, I also feel there was some mischief as after the news of my victory came things changed. Then, heard that the result has changed. I will later move court on this issue,” Banerjee said.
NEW DELHI:
With three consecutive wins in assembly elections, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday tightening her grip over the state and also inched towards a leadership position in the nonbjp, non-congress political space.
Trinamool’s third and the most difficult victory in Bengal assembly polls came against the full force of the mighty Bharatiya Janata Party.
It had won the first leg or the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 winning 18 MP seats but in the return leg of ‘Khela Hobe’, Banerjee proved that she understands the pulse of the voters. This election, according to some Trinamool MPS, can be a launching pad for Banerjee to harbour her national ambitions.
Banerjee, however, lost her personal battle against her former lieutenant Suvendu Adhikary in Nandigram but it won’t stop her to become the CM. The poll results are also a major victory for Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek. The BJP had run an all-out vilification campaign against him to attack the Trinamool.
The West Bengal election was the most anticipated polls with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and all other top leaders of the BJP rallying across the length and breadth of Bengal, raising the pitch of a “sonar bangla”.
They were confident of striking gold after the party won 18 Lok Sabha seats from Bengal in 2019.
Many Trinamool insiders claimed that the two-year gap between the national and the assembly elections helped in “course correction” as Banerjee launched several outreach programmes, most of them crafted by Trinamool’s chief poll strategist Prashant Kishor.
“When we started from that time (2019) onwards, we have been very cognizant of the problems and tried to address them both in administration and politically,” Kishor told NDTV on Sunday.
With schemes like call your Didi (Mamata) or publicly telling people to gherao houses of those who took cut money were aimed to appeal to the masses, Banerjee also side-lined a number of leaders.
“Subhendu Adhikari wanted to be the deputy chief minister. Kishor told Mamata to reject his demand,” said a senior Trinamool MP, who asked not to be named.
And when the young Adhikary shifted to the BJP, Banerjee announced she will contest from Nandigram—the area where people’s resistance against land acquisition played a key role in Mamata’s meteoric rise to power. Her presence in South Bengal was aimed to stop loss of vital political ground to the BJP.
Her team projected the election as a battle between the entire BJP versus a lone woman. The slogan of “Bengal wants its daughter”, the disarray in the BJP’S ground level administration and the choice of wrong candidates by the BJP boosted Banerjee’s prospects.
But Banerjee also faced a high degree of anti-incumbency, especially allegations of rampant corruption and highhandedness.
Trinamool made wholesale changes in its candidate list, brought a large number of cine-stars to cash on their popular appeal and try to turn the elections into a battle between Bengalis and outsiders. Banerjee also managed to consolidate the entire Muslim vote in her favour.
Now, all eyes will be on the run up to the 2024 elections. With a weakened Congress, Banerjee’s party are likely to try to project her as a pivotal force. She has been maintaining a cordial tie with leaders such as Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena.
In the next three years, Banerjee might want to dominate the non-bjp Opposition place and play the role of an anchor, if she gets an opportunity.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee during a press interaction after trends show her party's win in the state polls. (Clockwise from left) Trinamool Congress supporters celebrate the party’s victory near the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata; A BJP supporter walks down a street in Kolkata on counting day; A TMC supporter holds up a party flag in front of a piece of graffiti in support of Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Sunday.