For most part of the past 49 years, from June 1977 till date, West Bengal and its people took immense pride in being out of sync with the Centre. The political party controlling the levers of power in the state was never favourably inclined towards the ruling party at the Centre. This gave West Bengal the image of being an “Opposition” state. Although the hastily-coupled Left Front joined forces (to defeat the Congress) with the newly-merged Janata Party for the March 1977 Lok Sabha polls, after Indira Gandhi decided to end Emergency and order elections, in the Assembly elections that followed three months later, the two parted ways and the Left Front, thereafter, never aligned with any large “non-Communist” party.
For 34 years, the LF was a “natural” winner in every election in the state, parliamentary and Assembly, and underscored West Bengal’s political exceptionalism, even though the economy stagnated and along with the establishment of a new political culture, the “party-society” model, became the trigger for the widespread flight of human and labour capital.
Under this, the party, the CPI(M), became the “primary mediator” for all social, economic and legal issues citizens were confronted with. In the process, the Party became the State and vice versa.
The Trinamul Congress smashed through the CPI(M)’s iron grip, first in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, when in partnership with the Congress it wrested 25 of the 42 LS seats in the state. Thereafter, this success was repeated in the 2011 Assembly polls too, when the two strode to power with more than a two-thirds majority and pulled down the curtain on Communist rule in the state. Mamata Banerjee soon broke ranks with the Congress and established the same vice-like grip on the State apparatus and society as the LF had. The political structure which the CPI(M) had raised virtually shifted en bloc to the TMC, and with it, the party acquired the apparatus which controlled society and began appearing as the new “eternal” party of governance. This chokehold under the TMC, however, didn’t function within party-specified boundaries as during LF rule, and became synonymous with local musclepersons who became extortionists and domineering groups of various shades, even as governance became complacent.
The state’s verdict this time is an emphatic “no” to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s epic line Ekla Chalo Re, whose context was distorted over time. The people in West Bengal have given the BJP a stunning mandate, which enabled top BJP leaders, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to declare immediately after the results became evident that the party now holds sway in the entire Gangetic plain, from “Gangotri to Ganga Sagar”. With this, Bengal has joined the Hindutva mainstream and pushed up the NDA’s total presence to 22 out of 31 states and UTs with legislatures. Large parts of India now are virtually one-party democracies, although many would argue that in the first-past-the-post system, electoral victory always leads to a lop-sided parliamentary majority.
With 206 seats and 45.84 vote share, the BJP has not bettered the TMC’s best performances. Nevertheless, Suvendu Adhikari, who handed Mamata Banerjee a humiliating second successive defeat in Assembly polls, unabashedly declared the BJP’s strength lay in securing almost the entire Hindu vote. This will mark a complete transformation of the state’s politics and will possibly lead to reshaping the political character and discourse in the state. Whether or not the BJP succeeds in ensuring the revival of the state’s economy, bring in major investments and generate a significant number of jobs, the party would certainly provide a telling blow to the idea of the inclusive Bengali identity, which has taken pride in the state’s religious and cultural diversity. From when the people of Bengal championed Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam simultaneously, the latter’s co-religionists will now always sense being viewed with suspicion and detestation.
From when the British tried to partition Bengal in 1905 with the objective of pitting one community against the other, the people of the state either resisted or anguished against the decision. After this verdict, the tradition of composite co-existence would be greatly threatened as more and more Bengali Muslims, despite being Indians, would be increasingly labelled as Bangladeshis or illegal immigrants, and efforts would continue to disenfranchise them, while also depriving them of social welfare handouts the Narendra Modi government has made the norm. What then are the reasons for the BJP achieving what was considered impossible till a few weeks back?
For one, the TMC government failed to deliver on promises, both those made during the election campaign and what were announced after government formation, while the party was in power. This trigged a strong anti-incumbent sentiment. Second, people emphatically voted against the micro-corruption culture, which affected people across the state, as those in the party at the town, village or mohalla levels, became synonymous with extortionists who were part of the state’s underbelly. These two issues of people’s angst were coupled with the arrogance of the chief minister and other senior leaders. Eventually it was Mamata Banerjee’s hubris which dragged down the party below a three-figure mark.
The third issue that rankled was the TMC’s transition from being a “one-woman” show, centred on Ms Banerjee’s image of political asceticism, with her simple sartorial style and refusal to shift to the official residence. But Abhishek Banerjee’s steady rise from his appointment as youth wing president enabled the TMC’s adversaries, especially the BJP, to weaponise the term “Bhaipo” (nephew), to criticise what they call “Pishi-Bhaipo” (aunt-nephew) rule.
The fourth factor behind the BJP’s exemplary performance was its never-say-die spirit and the charismatic presence of Mr Modi, along with Home Minister Amit Shah, who exhorted party cadres to work to new heights. Finally, the BJP’s constant messaging that the interests of the majority community would never be compromised filled any blank that may have left in the party’s plank. For once, raking of communal sentiments so
brazenly paid significant electoral dividends. This would also leave a deep scar on Bengal’s society. Besides challenges on the governance front, the BJP will have to prevent any outbreak of inter-community clashes as threats to social harmony act as a hurdle to the path of economic recovery. The West Bengal results have also raised several questions over the extent to which the Election Commission aided the BJP by selectively deleting voters under the Special Intensive Revision. Some information is likely to come out as several legal challenges are likely to be filed over the coming weeks. For the moment, however, the BJP is the all-round victor.
Author-journalist Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay’s latest book is The Demolition, The Verdict and The Temple: The Definitive Book on the Ram Mandir Project. He is also the author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times. He tweets at @NilanjanUdwin
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