Everyone is eyeing this year’s Bengal election. All the parties, basically the BJP and TMC, are trying to come into power. Shiv Sena is not contesting the Bengal election; they are supporting Mamata Banerjee. If we talk about the last Lok Sabha election, the BJP had gained 18 seats and the highest ever.
It is a tough time for the BJP to gain votes in WB and the biggest reasons are the ongoing farmers’ protest and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). As we know, the farmers’ bills and protests have emerged as a big political challenge for the BJP.
Farmers are still protesting on the borders of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and the government has still not convinced them or cannot set a proper meeting with them. But yes, it is a good thing that the protest has hardly had any impact on Bengal.
The next is CAA. It is one of the major issues for both Bengal and Assam. Mamata Banerjee had said she would reject the CAA, but the BJP still support the Act. This issue will definitely affect the BJP in the election.
These are the two major issue for BJP. Apart from that, the Ram Janmabhoomi, abrogation of J&K’s special status and Rafale deal can affect them. Other opposition parties can use these issues against the BJP.
Many parties believe that Bengal is an ideologically crucial state for the BJP. It is not easy for them to build their government as the Mamata-led TMC never allows them to win. The BJP had never been a significant force in the state, but they surprised everyone to grab 18 seats out of 42 in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Victory in Bengal for the BJP will be no less than the abrogation of J&K or the construction of Ram Janmabhoomi. They need to be very careful because a single mistake will be harmful to them and they can lose the election. This time they are trying hard to get more seats.
Party President JP Nadda has launched the Lokkho Sonar Bangla (Target Golden Bangla) and asked people for their suggestions. There will be an LED van so that people can give their suggestion digitally.
Will these efforts help BJP to build their government in Bengal? We’ll get the answer soon. The phases will start on 27 March, 2021, and the last phase will be on 29 April, 2021. Let’s see who will be able to come to power?