Battleground bengal trinamool congress has its task cut out to defend its turf from bjp

Battleground bengal trinamool congress has its task cut out to defend its turf from bjp

Reports have come in of major clashes between BJP workers and the police in Bengal’s Siliguri, with the party claiming that one of its own has been killed. The clashes took place while BJP was carrying out a rally to the north Bengal secretariat to protest against Trinamool’s alleged misgovernance. There’s no denying that after Bihar, BJP is eyeing Bengal as the next big prize. Buoyed by its stellar 2019 Lok Sabha performance, where it won 18 Bengal seats, the party believes it can do one better this time and dislodge the Mamata Banerjee government. The latter is facing some anti-incumbency as it aims for a third consecutive term. Plus, unrest within its own ranks threatens to undermine the Trinamool campaign.

Influential Trinamool leader Suvendu Adhikari’s recent resignation from Mamata’s cabinet is a bad omen for the party. Adhikari wields influence over at least 40 assembly segments in West Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram. Should BJP manage to nab him, he could prove to be another Jyotiraditya Scindia. Meanwhile, the abject collapse of the Left and Congress in the state has again aided BJP which has slipped into the opposition vacuum.

Add to this Asaduddin Owaisi’s plan to field candidates in the Bengal polls, which could make a serious dent in Trinamool’s Muslim vote bank. AIMIM’s successful performance in the recent Bihar polls was a crucial factor in the RJD-Congress-Left combine’s failure to pip the NDA in the tight contest there. With significant Muslim voters in 75-80 Bengal assembly seats, Mamata will certainly be concerned about the Owaisi challenge. True, she could fall back on Bengali sub-nationalism and project BJP as an outsider, Hindi-heartland party. In short, Bengal could see a tight race next year.