West Bengal – A Political Madhouse

I don't know whether politics trumps West Bengal or West Bengal trumps politics. But one thing you all will agree with me that everyone in West Bengal has strong political opinions. West Bengal has a history of political turbulence. But here, I am not going to talk about what happened in the past. I will try to cover the current political hotchpotch situation in West Bengal.

All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) is in power since 2011. But in the 2019 Lokshabha Election, they have taken a blow from the Hindu nationalist party BJP. Ideology wise, BJP is also anti-communism like TMC. According to Wikipedia, the political ideology of TMC is anti-communism. In the West Bengal perspective, the party that follows the tenets of communism is the Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPIM). However, in the last election, according to the election experts, a large chunk of CPIM voters voted for BJP irrespective of CPIM's oppose against BJP's right-wing politics. After the election results, one of the senior leaders from TMC said about the ideological degradation of the communist party voters who voted for BJP. Funny, right! I wondered since when TMC has become sympathetic to communist ideology. Aren’t they the ones who toppled the CPIM in 2011?

There is no doubt that a large chunk of voters who used to vote for CPIM had voted for BJP. They see Modi as a face to counter Mamata Banerjee's TMC. These people are seeking revenge for the 2011 debacle in which Mamata Banerjee single-handedly toppled a regimented left-front government. They believe by not allowing factories at Singur and Nandigram, Mamata Banerjee has halted the economic growth of West Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee, once in a meeting, professed herself as a liberal. TMC, the brainchild of Mamata Banerjee, is a rebel faction of the Congress. Mamata Banerjee’s fall out with Congress had created the path for TMC's birth. That fight halted when TMC & Congress had a coalition during the 2011 Assembly election to remove CPIM from the power. But their friendship didn’t last long even though Congress being a liberal party.

Congress, on the other hand, had suffered back to back blows in two Lokshabha elections from BJP.  In West Bengal, they are out of power since 1977. Lack of teeth in West Bengal Congress has put BJP as the main opposition party against TMC.

BJP has also been successful in hijacking a few of TMC’s old guards. Their rise in the last Lokshabha election is commendable. They not only diverted the CPIM voter's attention but also the TMC voters.

However, they once had an understanding with Mamata Banerjee. TMC used to be in the NDA but now BJP is its arch-rival. 

On the other hand, CPIM has a coalition with Congress in West Bengal. Congress in the Centre projects itself as the main opposition party to BJP. However, in West Bengal, Congress’s fight is more against TMC than BJP. They also say that TMC and BJP are the two sides of the same coin. But, West Bengal Congress is mostly vocal against TMC which is a liberal party voice for democracy.

With so many equations, it is not easy for the people of West Bengal to choose a party to vote for in next year's election. It's a hotchpotch that turns West Bengal into a political madhouse.