Bengal elections have been dubbed as a clash of the titans because of the obsession of the national parties to target and tarnish the credentials of a popular regional political party led by India’s powerful woman chief minister. Mamata Banerjee is no stranger to Indian politics when it comes to the role and rank of an administrator and leader. She is organising, mobilising and agitating to address the concerns and crises of her constituencies being denied the rightful existence in society.
The Nandigram movement brought out the best of her as a capable activist who has been leading with all her determination and dedication and taking upon the might of the CPM government in the state. It was with this willingness that she sharply and electorally benefitted from it in the Assembly elections of 2011 and 2016. However, with the growing sense of dissatisfaction against her party functionaries, the Trinamool Congress, till a few months ago, was looking at the backfoot. But not anymore.
Half of her party leaders have either deserted the party or defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mamata’s principle political opponent in the state. This made her task simpler due to the increasing perception of a propaganda being run against her regime. We have seen how a huge amount of money was dwindled in the Saradha and Narada chit fund scams that involved hot shots Mukul Roy and Suvendu Adhikari with the BJP.
By offering tickets to grassroots cadres and workers, she has purposefully played her politics by neutralising the anti-incumbency factor because of the competing BJP on her turf. She knows fully that a coalition of the Left and the Congress may put up a great fight in the end and prevent a leakage of anti-BJP votes. The first phase of polling in the state was a reminder of this fact and if it remains consistent, then anything can be possible this election. Politics is all about probabilities and possibilities.