As the hashtag #BengaliPrimeÂMinister trended on Twitter on May 31, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee seemed to have won two rounds of a battle바카라”first, the assembly polls that showed the BJP on Narendra Modi and Amit Shah바카라™s watch is not invincibile; second, the Centre-state tussle after the election results galvanised the entire Opposition to her side. The Centre sent teams to probe alleged post-poll violence against BJP supporters, and then the CBI arrested those Narada-accused who are not with the BJP. This was followed by a tussle over the Cyclone Yaas review meeting바카라”the unprecedented invitation to leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari prompted Mamata to skip a meeting with the PM. The row escalated over the Centre바카라™s action against the state바카라™s chief secretary, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, one of her trusted bureaucrats. He was asked to report to the Centre, immediately. Even as Bandyopadhyay took retirement rather dramatically to avoid a posting with the Union government, the Centre issued a show-cause notice asking him to explain his absence at the scheduled Modi meeting.
By May 31, as Mamata appeared to have beat the Centre바카라™s moves with Âregard to the chief secretary by Âoffering him a three-year term as her chief advisor, the arrested TMC Âleaders also got bail. And BJP leaders in Bengal had mostly gone Âsilent. 바카라śThe more Modi singles out Mamata, the more she gains Ânational prominence,바카라ť says Biswanath Chakraborty, a professor of political science at Rabindra Bharati University in Calcutta. 바카라śPublic Âperception is going against the Centre. The state is being seen as the victim and gaining sympathy.바카라ť
The Bengal BJP바카라™s growing discomfort became evident when Subhranshu Roy바카라”son of Mukul Roy, Mamata바카라™s one-time confidante who is now a BJP Ânational vice president바카라”wrote in a Facebook post that the party should have focussed on introspection Âinstead of heckling the TMC after it was voted back to power with a massive mandate. Subhranshu, a two-time TMC MLA, had contested the assembly election on a BJP ticket and lost. Roy Senior has been maintaining Âcomplete silence since the polls. Other turncoats, including former MLAs Sonali Guha, Dipendu Biswas and Bachchu Hasda, have publicly apologised for betraying the TMC and made overtures to return to Mamata바카라™s party.
바카라śThe Centre took an aggressive stand against the state to protect our house in Bengal, so that leaders do not start deserting us for the TMC. However, the policy seems to have backfired so far,바카라ť says a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bengal. A BJP state unit member who did not want to be Âidentified says the party is yet to ask them for an analysis of the election debacle, perhaps Âbecause the blame would mostly be on the central Âleaders.
바카라śThey literally took over the state unit and took all calls regarding the elections. They would have claimed credit in case of success, but are not ready to take Âresponsibility of the defeat,바카라ť adds the state leader.
A BJP MLA says the party 바카라śclearly appears to have lost the plot in Bengal바카라ť. 바카라śThe central leadership made a call to turn Bengal into Sonar Bangla바카라”or Golden Bengal바카라”but the people did not trust us with that. Now the party seems confused about the new policy,바카라ť the legislator adds.
Another MLA feels there are indications that the party바카라™s future plan invÂolves intensification of campaigns on communal lines. 바카라śMuslims have overwhelmingly rejected our party and there is absolutely no hope for us to get Muslim votes in the foreseeable futÂure. Therefore, the top leadership of the party and the RSS would depend more on the prospect of Hindu consolidation,바카라ť the MLA says. Meanwhile, the Centre바카라™s moves targeting the state administration have complicated matters all the more.
By Snigdhendu Bhattacharya in Calcutta
