A month after the West Bengal elections, the weaker BJP continues to face defeat at the hands of the TMC. Mukul Roy, who was earlier a prominent member of the TMC before he joined hands with BJP, returned to the former after much speculation on his political standing. This is, without a doubt, a solid blow to the BJP’s already wavering stand in the state.
A lot of drama happened before election campaigns began. TMC heavyweights like Rajib Banerjee, and Suvendu Adhikari defected to the BJP, giving people the image that the TMC had become weakened. Adhikari’s decision got the spotlight as he was likely sidelined by Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata’s nephew. Up till late march, around 34 had moved from the TMC. More followed after TMC’s candidate list was rolled out, and hoped to get a ticket via the BJP. The April 2021 election was probably one of the fiercest fought by the BJP in recent history, and was aptly dubbed ‘Battleground Bengal’.
BJP managed to get a sorry 77 seats compared to their claim of getting over 200. Despite roping in some powerful candidates as well as celebrities, only Adhikari was successful in defeating his old boss, Mamata, in Nandigram. Since then, the opposition has grabbed every effort to establish some form of power. The 4 TMC heavyweights were arrested in the Narada scam had been granted bail. But surprisingly, the high court later put a stay on the bail order. The arrest warrant had been approved by the Governor, Jagdeep Dhankar, who is loyal to the BJP without his voicing it.
Abhishek Banerjee had caused a rife when he went to meet Mukul Ray’s wife in the hospital. A week or so later, Mukul Roy rejoined TMC along with his son. Recently, Rajib Banerjee had visited TMC’s Kunal Ghosh, claiming it was only courteous, while meeting a sick relative who lived nearyby. This also follows BJP’s desperate meets with Adhikari, possibly about this lively situation in Bengal. Other prominent leaders like Sonali Guha, and Sarla Murmu have also expressed their wish to return to TMC. Guha has written to Mamata saying how she “will not be able to live” without the latter, while also seeking forgiveness.
As Mamata began her third term, she has rolled a slew of guidelines to first tackle the pandemic in the state. She has also began preparations for the bigger picture in 2024. Meanwhile BJP struggles to tackle their fragile stability, while also preparing for the Uttar Pradesh State legislative elections in 2022.
