High-stake elections ahead; all eyes on Bengal, Tamil Nadu

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 26

With the stage set for a crucial election cycle across four states and Puducherry, all eyes are on Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and the BJP in West Bengal, while the Congress fights for electoral relevance after fresh setbacks in Puducherry and Gujarat.

Nothing to lose, the BJP has pulled all stops in Bengal, where it seeks to revive the Hindu nationalist sentiment that existed and thrived in pre-Independence India with strands rooted in the philosophy represented by the likes of Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay among others.

The saffron outfit’s aggressive push to the celebration of the life and times of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose apart, PM Narendra Modi in his Bengal poll outreach has repeatedly saluted Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda, recalling their legacy of service to “Bharat Mata”.

The BJP’s twin narratives in Bengal revolve around nationalism and economic revival with the PM announcing mega infrastructure projects for the eastern state (besides Assam and Tamil Nadu), as the ruling party of the Centre goes all out to win the Mamata-ruled state.

Seeking to challenge BJP’s nationalist pitch, Mamata is banking on the Bengali sub-nationalism to get home and has urged voters to ensure a win for “Bengal’s daughter”.

The opposition’s national fortunes are linked deeply to Bengal, where the non-BJP and non-Congress camp is watching Mamata’s performance closely.

If she manages to beat the aggressive BJP in Bengal, Mamata could emerge as the face of joint opposition in the run-up to the election cycles across states and finally the Centre in 2024.

Mamata’s emergence could decisively push back the Congress, which is struggling to revive its sagging electoral fortunes having just lost its government in Puducherry.

The grand old party is hoping to ride the popular DMK wave in Tamil Nadu, where incumbents AIADMK are facing resistance even as the BJP experiments to find a space other than Dravidian politics.

In Assam, the Congress is still struggling to reach a fair seat sharing agreement with AIUDF’s Badrudin Ajmal and Left partners, while in Kerala it is striving hard to oust the ruling LDF.

Congress’ Rahul Gandhi has so far devoted majority attention to Kerala where the party has hopes of returning to power. A win in Kerala would be crucial for Rahul’s leadership of the Congress where dissenters have been questioning his inability to get votes. Although the Congress has declared it would win 100 segments in 126-member Assam Assembly, it faces incumbent BJP.

last-minute schemes announced

• The WB Govt hiked the daily wages of labourers working under Urban Employment Scheme. Unskilled workers will get a daily wage of Rs202 per day, up from Rs144, while the same for semi-skilled labourers was raised to Rs303 from Rs172
• Loans availed from cooperative societies by pledging jewels up to six sovereigns and pending loans of women members of self-help groups in co-op banks and societies will be waived, Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami said on Friday. PTI