Mamta Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress was expected to win but with a slim margin when the electoral campaigns began. By the time the vote day had arrived, Indian media was contemplating a hung assembly or even worse for Mamata, a role in the Opposition. The reasons were not just the BNP/Modi wave but the populist factors which had led BJP to win elsewhere in India had been introduced in India too.
Mamata won for the third time in a crossing the seats she was expected to win even by the most optimistic estimate. Most are referring to her charisma, undoubtedly high but the elections showed the limits of political ideology compared to economic realities. This applies not only to West Bengal but across India where the scepter of Marwari raj is raising its head again in several parts of the country. The vote against Modi is not just a political rebuff but a declaration of wanting to be economically free from the control of the historically invader regions of India.
Modi was trying to sell the vision of an opportunity to participate in the all Indian economy to the middle class. The number of defections of TMC MPs and leaders to BJP was unseemly, displaying once again that many Kolkata centred politicians continue their loyalty to personal gain, short sighted aspirations and a desire to be ruled by Delhi. What the BJP lobby ignored was that the ordinary voters didn’t think the same. BJP should learn more about its India’s federated reality and not peddle its centralized vision of the state like colonial politicians.
While BJP’s vision is not popular in Bengal, it’s not unpopular either and that was reflected in the higher number of seats it holds now. The Congress and the Left have disappeared signaling the end of colonial era political legacy. It’s nice to see Congress go from Bengal, the party which successfully proposed and delivered the Partition of Bengal in 1947. Had the United Bengal Movement been allowed to succeed by Nehru, today’s problems of Delhi control wouldn’t be there.
BJP also tried anti-Bangladesh and anti-Muslim sentiment as a vote mongering tactics but it didn’t work as expected. Hating Bangladesh is fine but it doesn’t gain BJP/India much as such hate campaigns are negatively met in Bangladesh who immediately feel warm towards China, the counterfoil to everything India who loses some more here.
This self –defeating strategy is the product of BJP India’s outdated focus on politics rather than economics in national goal setting. Political issues are largely settled in India so BJP came across in West Bengal as the advanced ship of extra Bengal /Gujrati economic domination. Bengal has always resisted that and it did so this time because the BJP vision didn’t promise enough prosperity for Bengalis and that’s what wins elections. Mamata used that fear and BJP added to it ensuring its loss.
As India’s massive Covid management failure suggests, declaring being modern and being modern is something BJP has to learn better.
