The news that the ruling Trinamool Congress had swept elections to seven civic municipalities last week wasn’t really a surprise. Barring one, which was a new municipality, the others were controlled by the Trinamool. Still, the extent of victory was huge: it won 140 of the 148 wards, notching up a success rate of 94.5%. The Left Front’s dismal performance was on expected lines: it drew a blank. The Forward Bloc, a Left Front partner, won one ward. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been trying to be a big player in the State, won six wards. However, what came as a surprise was the BJP’s rousing celebration. By no count was this a “ vishal ” (huge) victory, so what was it celebrating?
Admittedly, the BJP did well in two areas of north Bengal, but will this be enough to take on the might of Mamata Banerjee? What will this translate to in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections where 42 seats are up for grabs? This may have been an election to only seven municipalities, but its reach extended from Durgapur in the industrial belt in the south to Dhupguri in the north, and is as good an indication as any if the BJP’s tactics have worked or not.
Whipping up a fervour
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won two seats: Darjeeling (hills), and Asansol (industrial belt in the south). In this civic polls, the loss in Durgapur suggests it hasn’t been able to hold on to its gain. So, the BJP, apart from cutting into the Left and Congress’s votes, still remains a fringe player, sticking to the hills and some urban areas.
In March, after the massive victory of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Kailash Vijayvargiya, national general secretary of the party, said the BJP’s focus would be on West Bengal where the “appeasement policy of the Mamata Banerjee government had reached a tipping point.” The BJP planned campaigns in ten districts of the State where it thought law and order had become a “matter of serious concern”, with one eye clearly on the impending panchayat elections. It did whip up a fervour. For instance, in April, there were never-before-seen Ram Navami processions with saffron-clad men, women and even children marching down the streets, brandishing swords and blowing conch shells.
As for the Trinamool, it’s not all rosy though the election results don’t necessarily show that. There were widespread allegations of rigging, and the huge margins of victory in many wards didn’t help to discount the charges. The Narada, Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund corruption cases have stuck to the Trinamool and the Gorkha agitation has been on far too long. If the BJP got carried away with its distant No. 2 position in the State, Mamata Banerjee too overdid it by calling it a victory of the people.
And the total decimation of the Opposition, can it ever be a good thing for democracy?
