Contestants’ priorities and the factors deciding who will emerge victorious or worsted differ as poll battle for Bengal inches closer. Given her party is better placed in South Bengal, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee kicking off her campaign from north Bengal is a pointer that she seeks to trundle her poll machinery from a portion of the state where BJP is stated to have its strongest following
In the backdrop of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and names struck off the voters list and larger deployment of central forces to prevent poll violence, BJP leadership feeling that its chances are better than it were five years ago is calling for a change and opportunity to usher in development . Incidentally, the saffron camp honchos are not launching any personal attacks on
chief minister Banerjee nor are they trying to engineer desertions from from the TMC leadership, making a marked change from 2021 elections.
Finding themselves in political wilderness for the past five years, both Congress and the Left seek to open their accounts afresh. With state Congress
leadership following a “go it alone” path and CPI(M)-led Left Front yet to be done with its seat sharing talks read bickering with
Indian Secular Front (ISF), election results will spell out to what extent their respective
game plan succeeds.
Both Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) led by former TMC leader, Humayun Kabir and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) led Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi are apparently bit players seeking to make their footprints. Yet once their game plan of cutting
Into TMC’s minority vote bank succeeds,the duo will call the shots.
North Bengal in the crosshairs of TMC has a sizeable presence of Rajbanshi population.It is 18 per cent of the Scheduled Caste population in the state and a strong support base of the BJP.
Riding on its welfare schemes, the TMC is aiming to cut into BJP’s sphere of influence in the tea belt. But BJP is planning to shift some of the blames of the tea industry on TMC state government and thereby blunting its campaign
Targetting to end BJP’s stranglehold in north Bengal, the TMC leadership have
allotted Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong constituencies to Bharatiya Gorkha Ganatantrik Morcha.Led by Amit Thapa, a son of the soil, the outfit is expected to give the BJP a run for its money.
If BJP swept seven out of. nine constituencies in Coochbehar and all the five seats in Alipurduar in 2021 election, the TMC checked the saffron advance in minority dominated Malda and Uttar Dinajpur. It won seven out of nine seats in Uttar Dinajpur.
While TMC won in eight out of 12 seats in .Malda in 2021, it trailed in both the Lok Sabha seats in 2024 elections. Both the parties won three seats each in Dakshin Dinajpur.
The TMC plans to use SIR as the key to stir up a sympathy wave in its favour. These areas are Murshidabad, Malda, parts of South and North 24 Parganas., Howrah and Purba Bardhaman. .
But then it has competition from both ISF and AJUP. It won all the ..Muslim dominated seats except Bhangar in 2021 in these areas.
Chief minister Banerjee ‘s criticism of SIR is being looked upon as a poll plank by her party. While BJP is looking for a split in Muslim votes, the CPI(M) is eyeing the same too.
Matuas vote will be a key factor in this election.
Hailing from Bangladesh, they are widely spread over North and South 24 Parganas, the community has been a saffron vote bank thanks to BJP’s support to Citizenship Amendment Act that helped many of them to become Indian citizens.
But the recent SIR exercise saw many. names being deleted from voters list. A TMC campaign have put the Election Commission and the BJP in the dock.
If BJP fared well in the Matua areas in 2021, the TMC wrested Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagda from it. The Matua. leadership is split too with BJP minister Santanu Thakur at odds with his cousin Subrata Thakur, a BJP
MLA.
Time was when Paschim Midnapur and Jhargram, parts of Kurmi dominated Jungle mahal, a saffron bastion. But TMC gained some ground in 2021 when it won all four seats in Jhargram.
Kurmis .number 50 lakhs and are seeking Scheduled Tribe status. The key to their votes is who ensures granting this status to them.
As the days turn into weeks and weeks into .months, the poll machines of the contestants will gather momentum. They will have to watch out for bumps and road blocks as more issues will crop up and individuals rooting for their respective outfits propagate them.
