The Pegasus “snoopgate”, ownership of the PM-Cares Fund, “imperilled” democracy in the nation, National Monetisation Pipeline, demonetisation, state of the Indian economy, contentious farm laws of the Narendra Modi government, alleged inability of the Congress to lead the national Opposition space, law and order in BJP-ruled states and the “divisive” agenda of the saffron camp.
The non-exhaustive list of national issues isn’t yet part of the draft of a manifesto from a key player in pan-India politics ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, but they were the principal talking points of Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamul Congress in the party’s extensive campaign for the Bhowanipore bypoll of September 30.
The Bengal chief minister, seeking election to the Assembly that her party swept this summer, has pitched the battle for Bhowanipore as a stepping stone towards unseating the BJP from the Centre, less than three years from now.
“B for Bhowanipore, B for Bharatvarsh, B for Bharat Mata,” said Mamata at the Ajanta Restaurant crossing in the constituency on Thursday.
“This is a fight for the very idea India, a fight to the finish… a crucial battle which was won by Bengal in the Assembly election. Bhowanipore is another — smaller, but important — battle for that cause,” she said at Shakespeare Sarani on Saturday.
The south Calcutta constituency, including some of the city’s most posh neighbourhoods as well as densely populated slums, does comprise over 2.06 lakh electors from various religious and linguistic communities, representing a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. It has, understandably, been called a “mini India” by not only Trinamul but also its principal rival, the BJP, through the campaign.
But Mamata’s apparent intention has been to turn the very local bypoll into an election of national consequence.
“Every vote you cast in my favour is important, as every vote will go towards further strengthening our fight nationally… all of India is watching this closely. In the future, Bengal will show the way for the nation, protecting it from this nightmare of a regime at the Centre,” she said in Ekbalpore and Chetla, on Wednesday.
The chief minister’s victory on her home turf ought to be a foregone conclusion, according to political scientists. The only real apprehension, said sources in Trinamul, is of a drastically reduced turnout — that might diminish her margin of victory — given the forecast of inclement weather for the three-way contest.
Besides the BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, the CPM’s Shrijeeb Biswas is also in the fray.
Biswas, for one, is unwilling to subscribe to Mamata’s national spin for Bhowanipore. “One will not become the Prime Minister by winning Bhowanipore.… We have gone to the voters with pertinent issues,” he said.
With her national pitch, Mamata participated in 10 public meetings or interactions, besides paying visits to places of worship for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Jains.
Mamata’s trusted lieutenants, such as Subrata Bakshi, Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Debashis Kumar, Aroop Biswas and Madan Mitra, besides her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, conducted a thorough campaign over weeks.
Additional reporting by Arkamoy Datta Majumdar
