West Bengal election results 2021: BJP leaders 'carpet-bombing' state with rallies goes in vain

Mamata Banerjee is likely to have successfully defended her position in West Bengal as Election Commission numbers show that the Trinamool Congress is leading in over 200 seats, indicating that Didi may be heading for a hat-trick.

TMC's overwhelming lead on the counting day comes after a gruelling election campaign spread across eight phases. The campaigns were stretched for months as TMC and the BJP fought neck and neck on various state and central issues.

The 'war machinery' of the BJP, as it has been called, included the most important saffron leaders of the country -- PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The BJP leaders staged rallies and roadshows across West Bengal in hope of garnering enough support to oust Mamata.

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However, going by the trends on counting day, the sheer volume of BJP's campaign seems to have been overshadowed by Mamata Banerjee.

According to BJP's schedule for the campaign in Bengal, the party has organised a rally, roadshow or other types of public meeting every day they possibly could in the past two-odd months. The BJP roped in every popular leader to campaign for the party in the state, including actor Mithun Chakraborty.

For instance, on a March day, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, BJP's Hindutva mascot, addressed three rallies in Bengal. On the same day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also held campaign in three rallies. Later, party President J P Nadda starred in a roadshow before addressing a rally again.

BJP exercised their strength in West Bengal due to the amount of time that the Election Commission allocated in the state. EC now has come under attack from various institutions for not acting fast enough on these "massive rallies" even as the Covid-19 second wave engulfed the country. Shah has denied all links between polls and the surge in infections. However, by late April, one in two people in Kolkata were positive for Covid-19.

The consistent presence of PM Modi had also changed the stakes in Bengal. With his "Didi...O Didi" remark, he mocked Mamata and accused her of barricading the Centre's schemes in West Bengal. As of early April, Modi had already addressed 23 rallies across 5 states.

In the TMC camp, however, besides Mamata Banerjee, her nephew Abhishek Banerjee lead a fierce campaign against the BJP. But he often came under attack from the BJP leaders, who referred to him as 'Tolabaaz bhaipo' (extortionist nephew). Throughout the campaign, Mamata attacked BJP leaders, referring to them as "outsiders" of the state.

Mamata had also targeted PM Modi following his visit to state's foreign neighbour Bangladesh, saying it was a violation of the poll code and that he was doing "vote marketing."

After the Nandigram incident, where Mamata Banerjee suffered a leg injury due to an alleged attack, she addressed rallies and roadshows in a wheelchair. At the end of the eight phases, Mamata emerged as a lone wolf in the TMC's election fight.