Skip to main content

Why anti-Mamata agitations, movements by BJP, Congress, CPM lack any strength

By Harasankar Adhikari 

Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Supremo and the Chief Minister of West Bengal, is a leader of gossip, debate, and criticism. She is among the very few leaders in India’s political history who have had no family background in politics, and she founded a separate political party and came to power in West Bengal.
The most important question in this democracy is whether she is an exceptionally exceptional leader or a leader without merit. She has every right to secure her captive vote bank. At least, poll results showed many times her party’s victory with an absolute majority in the last three assembly polls in West Bengal.
She is the only leader who formed her own party, and she is in power after defeating the 34-year-old Left Front within a decade. The majority of the population supports her and her party in spite of anti-encumbrance measures and continuous publicity (media trail and attack by the opposition). Now her government and her party are facing threats for rampant corruption and various allegations of money laundering and so forth. But no mass agitation or movement at large is here. It indicates that all malpractices are the politics of the anti-TMC. Why is it so?
Mamata has cleverly assessed and applied political diplomacy among the people of West Bengal. She has observed and studied the mental state of the people in Bengal, especially during the 34 years of Left rule. She investigated what the people of West Bengal desired in exchange for their vote, as well as the value of their vote. People have very general allegations about why they would vote.
Is it to make the leaders rich and wealthy? Whether they have no chance to change or are what they were or would be, She also assessed that a large number of political leaders (from the grassroots to the upper houses) were deprived of the minimum advantages for a better living standard. She tactically welcomes them all and integrates them under an umbrella named TMC. As a result, her agenda or manifesto was intended for both party leaders and the general public. Her message is that if they vote for her, they will benefit.
She traps voters by offering various packages of benefits, i.e Lakshmi Bhandar, Kanyashree, Rupashree, Sabuj Sathi
Accordingly, she traps voters by offering various packages of benefits, i.e Lakshmi Bhandar, Kanyashree, Rupashree, Sabuj Sathi, and so forth, according to the age, sex, economy, social background, and race of the voters. At the same time, she has no strict restriction on her party leaders' ability to raise funds deliberately. Thus, she balances all voters and her followers, who vote for her party and who organise the party and poll, respectively.
Her party leaders from different hierarchies, even elected representatives, are under trial for corruption for the selling of school jobs, taking bribes from the beneficiaries of different schemes, the coal scam, cow smuggling, etc. But Mamata Banerjee is not treating it as an obstacle to her political future. She is on the way. She ushers in different populist schemes when the government has a loan of Rs 6 lakh crore.
Agitation and movement against her government are one-sided among some of the victims and by the BJP, Congress, and CPM, which have no power to form a mass movement. The common people of West Bengal are used to gossip in groups. But they are not interested in taking action against it. The majority of them state that they are receiving benefits from the government that they were not previously receiving, and that there is no guarantee that they will continue to receive them if they oppose it. So, it is better to be silent.
There is reason to wonder: Has she broken the spine of the Bengalees as part of her great diplomacy in politics?

Comments

TRENDING

From algorithms to exploitation: New report exposes plight of India's gig workers

By Jag Jivan   The recent report, "State of Finance in India Report 2024-25," released by a coalition including the Centre for Financial Accountability, Focus on the Global South, and other organizations, paints a stark picture of India's burgeoning digital economy, particularly highlighting the exploitation faced by gig workers on platform-based services. 

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative   The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta*  India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

Over 40% of gig workers earn below ₹15,000 a month: Economic Survey

By A Representative   The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, while reviewing the Economic Survey in Parliament on Tuesday, highlighted the rapid growth of gig and platform workers in India. According to the Survey, the number of gig workers has increased from 7.7 million to around 12 million, marking a growth of about 55 percent. Their share in the overall workforce is projected to rise from 2 percent to 6.7 percent, with gig workers expected to contribute approximately ₹2.35 lakh crore to the GDP by 2030. The Survey also noted that over 40 percent of gig workers earn less than ₹15,000 per month.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra*  The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Death behind locked doors in East Kolkata: A fire that exposed systemic neglect

By Atanu Roy*  It was Sunday at midnight. Around 30 migrant workers were in deep sleep after a hard day’s work. A devastating fire engulfed the godown where they were sleeping. There was no escape route for the workers, as the door was locked and no firefighting system was installed. Rules of the land were violated as usual. The fire continued for days, despite the sincere efforts of fire brigade personnel. The bodies were charred in the intense heat and were beyond identification, not fit for immediate forensic examination. As a result, nobody knows the exact death toll; estimates are hovering around 21 as of now.

Budget 2026 focuses on pharma and medical tourism, overlooks public health needs: JSAI

By A Representative   Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India (JSAI) has criticised the Union Budget 2026, stating that it overlooks core public health needs while prioritising the pharmaceutical industry, private healthcare, medical tourism, public-private partnerships, and exports related to AYUSH systems. In a press note issued from New Delhi, the public health network said that primary healthcare services and public health infrastructure continue to remain underfunded despite repeated policy assurances.