News Analysis India

Tag: West Bengal Election Results

  • Half of BJP’s seats in West Bengal came from Dalit dominated constituencies

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Half of BJP’s final tally of 77 seats in the West Bengal Assembly elections came in constituencies reserved for the Dalits. The state has 84 constituencies reserved for SC and ST candidates and the saffron camp won 38 of these.

    Among the Dalit seats bagged by the BJP, 18 are located in north Bengal, where the BJP had made deep inroads in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. BJP won 31 seats dominated by the SCs and seven seats dominated by STs.

    Many of the seats are dominated by Matuas, a Hindu religious sect comprising those who had migrated from Bangladesh. They were promised citizenship by implementing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which West Bengal chief minister Manata Banerjee is strongly opposing.

    ALSO READ | BJP’s Bengal blunders and a message that democracy is a chapati

    “We won 10 seats among the reserved category where Matuas are a deciding factor. We promised these sections of Hindu refugees citizenship before the 2019 general elections which could not be implemented because of Covid-19. Before this Assembly election, we again made the same promise and Matuas decided to keep their faith in us,” said a senior BJP leader in Bengal.

    The Matua-dominated constituencies won by the BJP are Gazole in Malda, Krishnaganj, Ranaghat (South), Ranaghat (North-East), Kalyani and Haninghata in Nadia and Bagda, Bongaon (North), Bongaon (South) and Gaighata in North 24 Parganas.

    The saffron camp seems to have managed to retain its Dalit vote-bank in the north Bengal region where the Rajbanshi community forms a considerable chunk of the electorate.     

    The Dalits, however, in Junglemahal, comprising Purulia, Jhargram, West Midnapore and parts of Bakura districts, rejected the saffron camp. The BJP bagged victory in only three of the 12 Dalit-dominated seats.

    “In 2019, we secured a thumping victory in Junglemahal. Dalits supported us en bloc. But in this Assembly election, we received a massive jolt in this region. Electorates in non-reserved seats, too, did not accept the BJP. In the 40 Assembly constituencies, we won in 14 only,” said the BJP leader.

    The leader pointed out that the BJP’s CAA narrative proved double-edged.

    “Where the Matuas and Rajbanshis supported us on the citizenship issue, the Dalits in the backward region of Junglemahal did not. The TMC’s campaign opposing the CAA managed to win the poor Dalits, who were scared of the citizenship act as most of them do not possess basic documents other than the Epic Card,” he said. 

  • 14 dead in turf fight after Bengal verdict

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  Hours after trends showed Trinamool Congress’ landslide victory in West Bengal on Sunday, the state convulsed under post-poll violence wave from Sitalkuchi in the north to Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas that left at least 14 people dead, including two women. While the BJP claimed seven of the victims were its supporters, the Trinamool counted six of the diseased as its workers.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and inquired about the situation. BJP president J P Nadda met the families of the victims to express solidarity. BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya alleged that houses over 4,000 houses were ransacked and at least 100 shops were looted. The party also alleged that two of its booth agents were gang-raped, but there was no confirmation from the police.

    ALSO READ: Around 300-400 BJP workers entered Assam from Bengal amid post-poll violence, says Himanta Biswa Sarma

    Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said in most of the cases, the deaths were a result of the BJP’s factionalism between old workers and turncoats. “In some places, the BJP’s provocation triggered public anger,” he claimed. A worker of the Indian Secular Force, a partner of the Left Front, was killed in Bhangar, South 24 Parganas. In Kolkata’s Kankurgachi, slain BJP worker Abhijit Sarkar’s mother alleged her son was beaten to death by Trinamool supporters.

    Shovarani Mondal, a woman in her mid-60s, was allegedly killed at Jagaddal in North 24 Parganas, when she tried to protect her BJP worker son from being dragged away. In Sitalkuchi, 19-year-old Manik Baidya was shot dead by alleged Trinamool supporters. The Trinamool alleged two of their supporters Saju Khan and Bivas Bag were beaten to death by BJP supporters in Jamalpur, East Burdwan, for shouting Jay Bangla. In Hooghly, Trinamool worker Debu Pramanik was hacked to death at his home. Another party man Ganesh Mandal was killed at Raina, East Burdwan. 

  • BJP’s ‘arrogance’ among reasons for its defeat in West Bengal polls: Shiv Sena

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday claimed the BJP’s ”arrogance” was among the reasons for its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls.

    An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ also said the BJP’s “intolerance” was responsible for it being out of power in Maharashtra.

    The comments came days after Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil reportedly asked state NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal to weigh his words while speaking about the saffron party.

    Bhujbal had made certain remarks about the BJP in the context of the recent West Bengal polls, where the saffron party was defeated by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC).

    “When did Maharashtra become so intolerant?” the editorial asked.

    After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, long-terms allies Shiv Sena and BJP parted ways over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post.

    The Shiv Sena later tied-up with the NCP and Congress to form the state government.

    On Sunday, the TMC romped home in West Bengal, pocketing 213 of the 292 Assembly seats that went to polls, while the BJP got 77 seats.

    The editorial said Bhujbal had praised Banerjee for her resounding victory, and asked what is wrong in that.

    “The BJP’s arrogance was among the reasons for its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls,” the Marathi daily said.

    Due to the defeat in West Bengal, the BJP is not ready to enjoy its win in the Pandharpur Assembly bypoll in Maharashtra, the Sena said.

    In a setback to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, BJP candidate Samadhan Autade on Sunday won the by-election to Pandharpur-Mangalvedha Assembly seat in Solapur by defeating his nearest NCP rival by a margin of over 3,700 votes.

    “The MVA lost the Pandharpur bypoll and everyone congratulated the BJP and the winning candidate. But, no MVA leader threatened those who congratulated the winner,” the editorial said.

  • BJP’s West Bengal electoral vote share dips

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  The soaring-up graph of BJP’s vote-share since 2011 in West Bengal received a jolt in 2021 Assembly elections as the saffron camp’s electoral vote share dipped from 40.7% to 38.13% secured during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    By bagging 18 Lok Sabha seats two years ago, the BJP created a perception that it was coming to power in the state.

    But the party’s momentum received a massive blow as it bagged victory in only 77 Assembly seats, which falls short of 44 seats comparing to the saffron camp’s peak performance in the 2019 elections.

    In 2011, BJP had a thin vote-share of 4.06% which had jumped to more than 40% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    “Growth in our vote-share was completely because of erosion in CPI(M)’ vote bank. But in this year’s result shows the CPI(M)’s further erosion did not give us any dividend. Rather, it went in favour of the ruling Trinamool Congress. Besides, we, too, lost our strength in terms electoral stake in terms vote-share,’’ said a senior BJP leader.

    Elaborating on the possibilities behind the drop in BJP’s vote-share, the leader pointed out the party’s strategy of welcoming all TMC turncoats without scanning their background might be responsible.

    ‘’We were gaining strength in West Bengal riding anti-TMC sentiment. People were supporting us against TMC’s misrule and atrocities. When these section of electorates showing allegiance to the BJP found their tormentors in the same camp and being fielded in the Assembly elections, they decided not to support us. Rather, they possibly voted for th TMC to ensure defeat of the turncoats,’’ he explained.

    Citing another example, the leader said the saffron camp started performing impressively in Dalits dominated Junglemahal area since 2018 pandhayat elections. “But we received a jolt in the region because the TMC turncoats who were elected in local civic bodies failed to deliver,” he added. 

  • West Bengal Assembly election results: Minority insecurity results in Congress-Left Front wipeout

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: For the first time since Independence, there will be no Left Front (LF) or Congress representative in the West Bengal Assembly.

    The verdict of voters against these two political forces did not spare them even in their traditional strongholds in four districts Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur.

    In the 2016 Assembly elections, the LF-Congress combine had bagged 37 seats in these districts, while the ruling TMC had won just eight out of 47.

    Five years later, TMC bagged 36 seats and BJP jumped to 11 from one in this region. The insecurity of the minority voters resulted in a swelling of votes for TMC, as they thought that they would be safer under the ruling party than under Congress or Left.

    The state Congress leaders held BJP’s Hindutva rhetoric responsible for the party’s debacle in the minority-dominated regions of the state.

    “Even in 2016, we were able to retain our traditional vote bank among the minority community. But this time, these set of electorates shifted their loyalty to the ruling party en bloc. They felt that our party would not be able to protect them from BJP’s aggressive politics,” said a Congress leader.

    Most of the minority community residing in Malda and Murshidabad, which account for 34 Assembly seats, had migrated from Bangladesh.

    “These people were scared after the BJP started talking about citizenship for Hindu refugees by implementing the CAA,” said the leader.

    The election results in these regions clearly reflected extreme polarisation of Muslim votes. BJP’s Hindutva rhetoric gave Mamata Banerjee must more dividend than the saffron camp expected to have by playing the card of politics on the line of religion. The TMC, however, claimed that the party also got support of Hindu electorates, other than the minorities.

    “Women voters realised they would not be safe if BJP comes to power in Bengal. At the same time, young voters, who believe in West Bengal’s tradition of communal harmony, decided to reject BJP’s politics on the line of religion,” said a TMC leader.

    BJP leaders also admitted that the party failed to take women voters into confidence on the issue of their security.

    “Some incidents in Uttar Pradesh, where our party is in power, may have played a part. That went against us as TMC repeatedly highlighted it in their poll campaigns,’’ said a BJP leader.

  • West Bengal poll results show Narendra Modi-Amit Shah not invincible: Shiv Sena

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Monday said the West Bengal election results have proved that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are not invincible.

    An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said out of four states (West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and a Union Territory (Puducherry) which recently went to polls, all eyes were on West Bengal.

    “Instead of tackling the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the entire central government, including Prime Minister Modi, was in the poll arena of West Bengal to defeat (Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee,” it said.

    On Sunday, Banerjee fended off a spirited challenge by a resurgent BJP in West Bengal with a landslide victory for her Trinamool Congress (TMC) party for a third consecutive term.

    “The results have proved that despite having all the machinery and technology at their disposal, Modi-Shah are not invincible,” the Marathi daily said.

    The Shiv Sena, which shares power in Maharashtra with the NCP and Congress, did not contest the West Bengal polls, but extended its support to Banerjee.

    West Bengal had to go through eight phases of voting, the editorial noted, and claimed the BJP used money, power andgovernment machinery to defeat Mamata Banerjee.

    “The BJP lost and the corona won. This is a one-line analysis of the Bengal poll results,” the editorial said.

    With the single aim to win West Bengal, Modi and Shah entered the poll fray, held massive rallies and roadshows, violating all COVID-19 safety rules, it alleged.

    It said the Madras High Court has blamed the Election Commission for the spread of COVID-19 due to the long-drawn campaign in the states where polls were recently held, especially West Bengal.

    The Sena asked who will take the responsibility of the BJP’s performance in the polls.

    Except for Assam and Puducherry, the BJP has not done well (in other states which went to polls), it said.

    “The people of West Bengal need to be complimented for not falling prey to an artificial wave and for unitedly standing up for their own prestige. The country should learn from Bengal,” the editorial said.

  • BJP heavyweights and turncoats unable to make dent in TMC’s bastions

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: The BJP’s plan of riding on the shoulders of Trinamool turncoats turned out to be a major dampener for the party looking to make inroads in West Bengal.

    As many as 148 turncoats, including 18 MLAs and one MP, joined the BJP in the run-up to the eight phase polls but most failed to win.

    “This is a major jolt to us. The high-command instructed to induct all TMC turncoats, who were elected in 2016 Assembly elections. The party wanted to win seats, no matter the candidate came from which party. Now it seems, it sent a wrong message to the electorate who were not happy with the decision of inducting such leaders,” said a BJP leader.

    Rajib Banerjee, a former Trinamool minister, was fielded from Domjur in Howrah from where he was elected in 2016 with a margin of more than one lakh votes. But Banerjee failed to retain his seat as a BJP candidate.

    “This is a clear indication that the people of the constituency did not accept Banerjee’s defection to the BJP,’’ said a BJP leader.

    Rabindranath Bhattacharya, BJP’s octogenarian candidate in Singur, Hooghly, was defected after he was denied ticket. He, too, failed to win from the constituency from where the BJP secured a lead of more than 10,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    “Bhattacharya defected to the BJP within 48 hours of TMC’s announcement. Even two days ago he was our arch-rival… Within hours, he became the face of our party in Singur. People not only ejected our decision of inducting Bhattacharya but also his defection,’’ said another BJP leader.

    Similarly, Sabyasachi Dutta was fielded in Bidhannagar against fire services minister Sujit Bose.

    “Dutta and Bose was known for their rivalry in the TMC. The party decided to field Dutta to ensure a fierce battle against Bose. But it didn’t work,’’ said another BJP leader.

    BJP’s spokesperson, Sayantan Bose said an analysis would be done to find out the reasons behind the poor performance of the turncoats.

    “There might be factors like resentment among our supporters over the issue of candidate selection,’’ he said.

    Rajib Banerjee embarrasses saffron camp 

    Rajib Banerjee, a former Trinamool Congress minister, was fielded from Domjur in Howrah from where he was elected in 2016 with a margin of more than one lakh votes. But Banerjee failed to retain his seat as a BJP candidate.

  • Bengal tigress Mamata Banerjee overtrumps Hindutva card

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  Notwithstanding the shrill pitch of “Jai Shri Ram” and BJP heavyweights Narendra Modi and Amit Shah leading the opposition rallies, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had the last laugh with her plan of portraying herself as the daughter of West Bengal pitted against outsiders striking a chord with the voters. 

    Polls were held in eight phases but when the results came in it became clear that the saffron party was nowhere near its ambitious target of 200 seats.

    Unlike the 2019 LS elections, the ghost of anti-incumbency failed to spook Didi and her government.  

    Mamata tactfully sat down after the 2019 debacle to unleash a plethora of sops mixed with a healthy dose of populism.

    Multiple factors worked in favour of Mamata, which include complete consolidation of minority vote-bank, massive support of women electorates, her pre-election ventures of giving health insurance cards to all citizens and setting up government camps in localities across Bengal to offer services.

    Mamata Banerjee emerged out of her house Kalighat residence and greeted the party supporters assembled in front of her house.

    “This is Bengal’s victory. Today, Bengal has saved India. They talked out double-engine government in Bengal. We have crossed double century mark. We didn’t expect landslide victory at some places.’’

    On the day of her party’s remarkable victory, Mamata hit out at the centre on Covid-19 vaccination issue. ‘’The central government should give vaccines to all 140 crore people free of cost. If they don’t, I will stage sit-in-demonstration.’’

    Eyeing to consolidate 70 per cent of Hindu electorates, the BJP tried the card ofd polarisation accusing Mamata of going all out to appease one community. In retaliation, Mamata branded the BJP as a party of outsiders.

    “Our Hindutva rhetoric went against us. The narrative proved futile as the Hindu electorates not at all voted for us en bloc. Instead, it panicked the minority electorates and they got consolidated in favour of the TMC completely. As a result, the Congress’s and Left Front’s vote share shifted to the fold of the ruling party,’’ said a BJP leader.

    The leader admitted that the promise of building Sonar Bangla faded in front of Mamata’s aggressive tact of outsider versus insider plank.

    “She kept asserting that our national leaders are talking about building Sonar Bangla when they cannot even pronounce two Bengali words properly. Besides, she coined a slogan of Bangla Nijer Meyeke Chay (Bengal wants its own daughter). This narrative worked,’’ he said. 

    Mamata expressed her gratitude to the women electorates who form 49 per cent of the total electorate. “Her (Mamata’s) decision of giving health insurance cards covering all citizens of the state, irrespective of financial status, was aimed to woo the women voters.”

  • West Bengal Assembly Election results: Nandigram swung like a pendulum

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Nandigram, the epicentre of the high-octane West Bengal Assembly elections in East Midnapore, witnessed a nail-biting drama on who would be the winner Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or her once trusted lieutenant-turned-foe Suvendu Adhikari.

    The drama continued till the last round when news of Mamata’s victory came in, but minutes later, Suvendu’s victory by 1,956 votes was announced.

    While the returning officer rejected Trinamool’s request for a recount, the party asked the chief election officer to reconsider it.

    Accepting the verdict in Nandigram: Mamata

    Hinting at her defeat, Mamata said in the evening that she was not happy with the counting process in Nandigram.

    “I accept the verdict in Nandigram. I offer my salaam to the people of Nandigram. I will move to court, if necessary, to review the result. It is a minor issue for a party that is wining in 221 seats,” she said. Mamata had changed her constituency and decided to contest in Nandigram to take on Suvendu in his home turf.

    The decision bolstered the morale of Trinamool’s supporters not only in East Midnapore, but also across the state. She, on, Sunday pointed out that some “small sacrifices’’ are sometimes required for larger gains.

    “Whatever has happened has happened for the good. I won’t have to visit such a long distance to look after the constituency,’’ she said while referring to Nandigram. In the first five rounds, Suvendu secured a lead of more than 10,000 votes but the Trinamool camps appeared relaxed.

    They said the rounds covered the areas dominated by Hindu voters. After the sixth round, Mamata started gaining votes and both the candidates started overpowering each other after every alternate round.

    The tension among the supporters of the TMC and the BJP reached its peak when Suvendu secured a lead of just six votes after the 16th of a total of 17 rounds. In the last round, the rebel TMC leader and BJP’s star candidate secured his win. The TMC, however, demanded recounting in Nandigram.