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In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has opened a front against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Narendra Modi government at the Center regarding ED raids. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got angry when ED officials raided the house and office of Prateek Jain, chief of political strategy preparation company I-PAC. Mamata Banerjee reached there to stop the officials and took back the documents from the officials.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of arbitrarily misusing the investigating agencies. He has said that the central government wants to steal Mamata Banerjee’s election strategy and wants to keep the documents, because assembly elections are going to be held in West Bengal. Whenever there has been a clash between Mamata Banerjee and the central powers, Trinamool Congress has benefited politically.

Why is this so, let us understand-

How does Mamata Banerjee capitalize on red politics?

Assembly Elections 2021: Narendra Modi’s government was formed at the Center for the second time. There was a political row between the Central and West Bengal governments over the increasing interference of central agencies. Mamta Banerjee kept calling the intervention of CBI and ED as an act of revenge by the Centre. In the year 2021, ED and CBI had raided in West Bengal regarding coal smuggling scam, chit fund and Narada sting operation. Even Abhishek Banerjee and his wife’s name had come up in the coal smuggling scam.

Raids were conducted at many places including Asansol, Kolkata on charges of illegal coal theft and smuggling from the mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited. In the year 2014, in the Narada sting operation scam, TMC leaders were shown taking bribes. In May 2021, the CBI arrested ministers Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, MLAs Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee. Mamata Banerjee was successful in capitalizing on the raids. Even his injury proved effective in this politics of sympathy.

She was on Nandigram tour. It was alleged that she was standing near a car when some people pushed her. Mamta Banerjee fell. She took a wheel chair to every election campaign. She reached the election campaign with plaster tied everywhere. Took part in election public meetings in a more aggressive style than PM Modi.

Mamata Banerjee’s politics of ‘Mother, Soil and Manush’ worked. Also received sympathy votes. Even after the strong Modi wave, Mamata Banerjee won a strong majority in the state. TMC got a clear majority on its own, securing 213 seats, while BJP was reduced to just 77 seats. Even the anti-incumbency wave in the state did not work. Mamata Banerjee presented herself as the ‘protector of the identity of Bengal’. Regional equations dominated, BJP could not even get 80 seats.

TMC remained in the strongest position in the earlier assembly elections. In 2011, TMC got 184 seats, Left was limited to 62. In 2016, TMC won 211 seats, BJP got 3 seats. Left got 32 seats. In 2021, TMC got 213 seats, BJP won more than 70 seats. BJP could not maintain its lead in the Lok Sabha elections held after two years. ,

From 2019 to 2024, how did Mamata continue to succeed?

The Narendra Modi government at the Center had introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act on December 11, 2019. Mamta Banerjee called it against minorities. Narendra Modi’s government was at the Centre, action was taken, investigation was done, then Mamata Banerjee capitalized on it in her favor in the year 2019. Alleged that the government is withholding funds from schemes like MGNREGA, PMAY. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, out of 42 seats in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress got 22 seats, BJP got 18 seats, Congress got 2 seats. TMC maintained its strong position, but BJP won 18 seats, up from 2 seats in 2014, benefiting from the Modi wave. The interesting thing is that BJP saw quick gains in this election but it did not create such a stir in the assembly elections. The stage was set for a major defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

Shock to BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha elections

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress got 29 seats out of 42 seats in West Bengal. Bharatiya Janata Party was reduced to 12 seats. Congress got 1 seat. TMC was on only 22 seats in 2019, it will reach 29 seats in 2024. Bharatiya Janata Party was on 18 seats in 2019, it will come down to 12 seats in 2024. TMC strengthened its position in West Bengal, while BJP suffered losses. Here too, Mamata Banerjee was successful in the politics of ‘Mother, Mati and Manush’.

This is Mamata Banerjee’s old strategy

This has been an old strategy of Mamata Banerjee. Between 2006 and 2007, two major political movements took place in West Bengal. Singur and Nandigram movements. The Left government played an important role in the suppression of both the movements. 14 farmers were killed in police firing in Nandigram. There was anger among the public. Mamata Banerjee faced many attacks in her political journeys. He alleged harassment by the police and CPI(M) cadres. He had overthrown the Left government by giving the slogan of ‘Mother, Soil and Manush’. Mamata Banerjee’s alleged pro-farmer stance led to her landslide victory in the 2011 assembly elections.

Why is there political benefit?

Mamata Banerjee gives the slogan of ‘Maa, Mati, Manush’ in West Bengal. This slogan fits the political pitch of Mamata Banerjee. This election slogan of Mamata Banerjee, who expelled the Left from West Bengal by emerging in the Singur and Nandigram movements, was successful in the elections of 2009 and 2011. Mamta Banerjee presents every political slogan against her in the same manner, as if this slogan is an attack on Maa-Mati and Manush. His slogan reflects his passion for the culture, people and land of Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee succeeds in convincing the public that the Bharatiya Janata Party is attacking the culture of Bengal. She also calls BJP an outside party. There is Narendra Modi government at the center since 2014. She calls every investigation by central agencies in West Bengal an act of political vendetta. She alleges that ED and CBI work with a spirit of revenge in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee alleges that the BJP government withholds funds and brings acts like the Citizenship Amendment Act only to oppress minorities. Mamata Banerjee makes these an election issue and takes these issues to the public.

Now what next?

ED has once again raided in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee is calling it an act of revenge against the West Bengal government and is making it an issue of political vendetta. The politics of outsider versus Bengali has started once again.