Lok Sabha Election / Will TMC counter the growing stature of BJP? The political fight in Bengal is interesting

Lok Sabha Election: There is a lot of campaigning going on for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Political parties are trying hard to attract voters. Everyone's eyes are fixed on West Bengal. The political fight here is interesting and Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are face to face. TMC is in power in the state and BJP is giving it a tough competition. Congress is at number three, due to which a triangular contest is being seen in Bengal. Elections will be held in the state in seven phases between April 19 and June 1.

TMC is plagued by corruption allegations and internal strife. She is breaking away from the opposition Indian alliance and is contesting the electoral arena single-handedly. There are 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. A dramatic political change has been seen here in recent years. BJP has increased its influence in this region, which is the stronghold of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.

Through which issues is BJP attacking TMC?

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP gave a big blow to Mamata Banerjee and was successful in winning 18 seats. This explosive entry of BJP not only challenged the dominance of TMC, but also directly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mamata Banerjee. War of words has also been seen many times between the two leaders. This Lok Sabha election is another opportunity for BJP to establish its influence in the eastern region of the country through Bengal. This is the reason why TMC is attacking BJP and is terming the party led central government as a complete failure.

BJP is attacking the Mamata government through the issues of deteriorating law and order in the state, corruption, atrocities on women and CAA. At the same time, Congress and Left parties are fighting to prove their existence. The accounts of Congress and Left parties were not even opened in the last assembly elections. However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, TMC had won 22 seats and Congress had lost two.

Why has TMC's image been tarnished?

It is being told that TMC is struggling with internal power struggle between senior and young leaders and its image has been tarnished due to corruption allegations. There has been internal strife and dissatisfaction regarding candidate selection. In Sandeshkhali, women accused TMC leaders of being involved in sexual exploitation and land grabbing, which the BJP is weaponizing and using against them in the elections.

Where is BJP feeling weakness?

Talking about the situation of BJP in Bengal, even after the defeat in the 2021 assembly elections, the position of the organization is not very strong. The party misses strong leaders at the state level. There have also been voices of dissatisfaction internally regarding the selection of candidates. The real issue of the party is counter-polarization revolving around CAA. At the same time, if we talk about Left parties and Congress, then in many areas there are no leaders working at the grassroots level and the organizations are losing their existence. At the same time, the issue of reliability is also big. Voters are not able to trust them. The Left parties and Congress are part of the India alliance in the state.