Lame Duck Opposition in Bengal

 

Politics of Secret Alliance in Bengal

Lame Duck Opposition in Bengal

                          Nidhu Bhusan Das

We are already familiar with the portmanteau Bengali word ‘Bijemool’, a satiric combination of the names of two political parties BJP and Trinamool Congress. Before the end of the Left Front rule in West Bengal, a reference to the fruit ‘tarmuj’ was in vogue in the political discourse in the state. Tarmuj referred to those Congress people who were perceived to be in league with the ruling Left Front. Tarmuj is deep green outside and red inside. Those congress people, though bearer of the banner of Congress, were thought to be secretly in alliance with the Left (red).People of Bengal saw many bloody street fights between the supporters of the two political outfits but it was widely believed in the bipartisan political spectrum of the time that the perpetuation of the Left rule for thirty-four years in the state was possible because of a behind-the-screen-alliance between Congress and the Left. This perception paved the way for fiery Mamata Banerjee to become a reliable opposition leader who could win the support of a major chunk of Congress people and form the Trinamool Congress. While Congress bled, Trinamool Congress gained in strength and vibrancy. Now Congress, a weakling, is in open alliance with the Left, another weakling, in the state.

The people of the state are unlikely to be inspired at the tacit alliance of the BJP, and Trinamool Congress will definitely continue to harvest the maximum electoral benefit in case the Congress-Left alliance, though difficult, cannot become the reliable alternative.

 The state BJP has, so far, been a lame duck opposition with little cohesion in the leadership and its rank and file. No comprehensive movement against the corruption being unearthed by probe agencies could be launched throughout the state, and a few Nabanna Abhijans cannot win the heart of the people. Perhaps BJP think if they can flood Kolkata with supporters from a few districts, they will win the elections and be able to unseat Trinamool Congress. This is like building castle in the air. They must have organization at the grassroots level to fight tooth and nail against the onslaughts of the ruling party, to protect their workers and supporters in rural Bengal and be in sustained movement against corruption popularizing the idea of good governance which the people of West Bengal have not seen since decades.

 The state leadership miserably failed to protect the party supporters when the post-poll violence erupted after the 2021 Assembly election results had been out. The leaders including state party President Mr. Dilip Ghosh having Z category security remained out of touch while the hapless supporters were hounded out of their hearths and homes, many were injured and killed.

BJP won 18 Loksabha seats in 2019 in the state because people spontaneously voted for the party wherever they could against the ruling party. If the party think the state unit and the then state unit president deserve credit for the spectacular performance, they may still live in a make-believe world, far away from reality.BJP in the state appears to be pompous and garrulous  without any understanding of the  needs, desires, aspirations and dream of the common people  across the demography. If they continue to live in the make-believe-world, doom and back to the irrelevance of pre-2019 days is their fate.

Unlike in other states, BJP in West Bengal cannot accommodate new people from other formations and backgrounds. The old-new conflict proved costly for them in 2021 and the same prevails as they are reluctant to learn from experience. People from other political backgrounds are scared of migrating into BJP because of the insularity of the party in the state.

If quick remedial measures are not taken having the hopes and aspirations of the common people in mind, exodus of voters from the party is the most likely consequence.