Kolkata: The sharpest barbs were reserved for Sandeshkhali. The strongest words were there for the law and order situation of Bengal. Acid tongues were out for the unfolding school service commission scam that had put the ruling dispensation on a sticky wicket. Then there was the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was promising citizenship documents to those thousands of people who had taken refuge in the state over the years, from across the borders.
But, when the electronic voting machines were out and opened, the smile on Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s face only turned wider. As the sun set along the western banks of River Hooghly, a beaming Mamata appeared with her nephew Abhishek Bandopadhyay by her side to say, the Prime Minister should accept a moral defeat and resign.
With most exit polls indicating a 20-plus seat win for the BJP from Bengal, it was only Mamata Banerjee who stood between predictions and reality. Incidentally, the figures simply reversed with the Trinamool Congress now set to register victories from around 29 out of the 42 seats of West Bengal, leaving only 12 for the BJP and one for the Congress.
One more thing also happened simultaneously in Trinamool-land. Abhishek Banerjee’s unquestionable position in the Trinamool Congress, of which, he is the national general secretary. From strategizing to organisational decisions, from having his fair say in choice of candidates to campaigning and drawing campaign strategies, Abhishek was everywhere.
Not only did he leave an indelible mark in his party, which was once virtually torn between the two camps representing the old guards who were close to party supremo Mamata Banerjee and the new ones close to Abhishek, but the TMC national general secretary walked the talk. After the sixth phase of elections, it was Abhishek who had said, “Last time (2019) we got 22 seats. This time, even if the world turns upside down, we will get at least 23 seats.” The results show, the heir apparent of Mamata Banerjee hit bulls eye.
During the campaign, which went on for around 77 days, Mamata trained her guns against the Modi-Shah duo. And Abhishek chose to stick to the welfare schemes launched by the Mamata Banerjee-government. The flagship Lakshmir Bhandar scheme for women has been a game changer for Mamata since the 2021 Assembly elections. Added to that were the stoking of anger in the rural belts of the state that the BJP leadership in the state was directly involved in blocking funds due to the state for payment of the 100-days jobs scheme and Prime Minister’s Housing scheme. The results show, both Mamata and Abhishek were bang on target.
The Trinamool countered the backlash it was experiencing out of Sandeshkhali, but did it in such style that it not only won the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat with a convincing margin, but also demolished the BJP in Sandeshkhali Assembly segment.
Early estimates indicate that the Trinamool has bagged around 46% of votes in the 2024 edition of Lok Sabha elections in Bengal. The party is all set to become the fourth-largest party in the lower house of the Parliament after the BJP, Congress and the Samajwadi Party. The task before the BJP in Bengal to bring their house in order after being reduced from a tally of 18 to 12 is a daunting one. It will only get tougher as the state heads to the Assembly polls in about two years.
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