Mamata Banerjee's poll plank: ‘Laxmi Bhandar’ to ‘Unnayan (development) Panchali’

By Harasankar Adhikari 

In 2011, after three decades of uninterrupted Left Front rule, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to power in West Bengal under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. Many voters, weary of a long period of political stagnation and perceived cadreism, hoped the new government would offer a more responsive and accountable administration. The expectation was that the transition would bring peace, transparency and a break from entrenched structures of party control.

Fifteen years later, those hopes have evolved into a more complex debate about governance. The TMC has won three consecutive Assembly elections, aided by a mixture of popular welfare schemes, organisational strength and a weakened opposition. However, critics argue that electoral dominance has been accompanied by concerns over transparency, political intimidation and erosion of institutional accountability.

Among the most visible instruments of governance during this period have been cash-transfer programmes, notably Laxmi Bhandar, which provides monthly support to women from economically vulnerable households. Supporters see such schemes as necessary entitlements in a state battling poverty and unemployment. Detractors characterise them as politically motivated interventions that blur the line between welfare and electoral mobilisation.

The release of Unnayan Panchali—a rhymed doggerel presented as a chronicle of TMC’s development achievements—marks the opening phase of the 2026 election campaign. Public dissemination of the Panchali has been observed in neighbourhoods, markets and social media, and some beneficiaries reportedly feel pressure to participate in promoting it to signal loyalty and safeguard access to welfare.

Anecdotal conversations with women street vendors in Kolkata suggest discontent beneath the surface. While dependent on state schemes, they express frustration at being drawn into campaign activity during peak business hours, and some voice a desire for self-reliance over welfare dependence. Their dilemma highlights the entanglement of livelihood, state support and political obligation—a dynamic neither unique to West Bengal nor confined to one party, but deeply embedded in India’s welfare-driven electoral culture.

Broadly, West Bengal enters the 2026 polls amid rising political competition. The BJP has consolidated a significant vote share, particularly in non-urban districts, while minority-based organisations have become more assertive in mobilising Muslim voters. TMC remains the incumbent force but faces a more fractured and polarised electoral landscape than in earlier cycles.

The situation raises a recurring democratic question: who ultimately shapes the state—the voter or the elected? Elections are designed to allow citizens to determine the course of governance. Yet, once elected, governments often gain wide latitude to define priorities, distribute resources and influence the political environment in which voters live and work.

As West Bengal approaches another election, the interplay between welfare, political agency and democratic accountability will again be tested. Whether the Panchali is embraced, resisted or ignored by the electorate remains to be seen. But it brings to the surface a deeper anxiety shared by many voters: the desire for dignity, autonomy and a governing arrangement in which dependence on the state does not translate into submission to its politics.