BJP, Trinamool getting ready for 2024 battle royale

There seems to be a certain realisation in the BJP that the strident Hindutva which may work in north India has a limited appeal in the state. Banning meat sales in the open may draw cheers in Madhya Pradesh, but could prove politically disastrous in West Bengal.

New Delhi: If Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial symbolises the edifice of British imperialism in 20th-century India, the abutting Brigade Parade Grounds is a time-lapse encapsulating the shifting power structures in the post-colonial era. A compressed video file of sorts where the sea of red at Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev’s grand reception in 1955 is smudged by strokes of saffron at the historic United Front rally in 1988 where Atal Bihari Vajpayee shared the dais with the Left stalwart Jyoti Basu.

For its reputation of having hosted historical political rallies perhaps, the Lokkho Konthe Gitapatha Committee of Kolkata has chosen the Brigade for a mega Gita recital on Christmas Eve. Over a lakh people are expected to participate in the event.

But there is more to this Gita Path than the mere recital of one of the most powerful doctrines on life its and moral compass. The organisers of the event met Prime Minister Narendra in November and extended an invitation. "The PM has given his consent to attend the programme. The committee will invite other dignitaries as well,” said BJP state President Sukanta Majumdar, who had accompanied the committee members for their meeting with Modi.

The political undertones of the event are evident as in the last couple of days, posters of the programme have come up across the city where Modi is seen bowing to Arjun’s charioteer Lord Krishna.
This is not the first time that Modi would be participating in a religious event ahead of key electoral battles in Bengal. He has been a regular visitor to Ramakrishna Mission’s headquarters at the Belur Muth. In 2022, Modi addressed the Matua community online at the Baruni Mela, a grand annual event of the Dalit community that had migrated from East Bengal at the time of partition. A year earlier, the PM also visited the community-revered shrine at Orkandi, 200 km from Dhaka during his state visit to Bangladesh.
All that and the affiliated campaign has only helped BJP emerge as the main challenger to the ruling Trinamool Congress. A distant second if one goes by the last assembly polls results.

And there seems to be a certain realisation in the party that the strident Hindutva which may work in north India has a limited appeal in the state. Banning meat sales in the open may draw cheers in Madhya Pradesh, but could prove politically disastrous in West Bengal. On the contrary, a soft Hindutva dovetailed with a development agenda aimed at generating employment may have a much wider appeal.
Religious polarisation has its limitations in a state like Bengal on two accounts. Firstly, the sedimentary impact of the post-independence politics dominated by the Left constricts the BJP’s space to maneuver.

Secondly, the demography of the state gives a certain leg up to the anti-right wind political forces. Unless the polling is completely polarised on religious lines, with 30% plus Muslims, TMC as the main repository of the minority votes needs to add just another 13% votes to its kitty to win in a first-past-the-post system.
To achieve that target, TMC just needs to strike a fine balance in the political narrative to ensure BJP does not become the sole repository of Hindu votes.

As was evident in the last assembly polls Mamata Banerjee sensed a chink in BJP’s armor to successfully draft a narrative to counter religious polarisation.
"Ram performed the puja of Devi Durga (in the Ramayana). Maa Durga is much superior to Ram, that is why he worshipped Maa Durga," the chief minister said at a public meeting during her campaign.
Precisely the reason why, the BJP has had to look for newer strands of political mobilisation as it prepares to enter the arena again for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Perhaps, there is a realisation in the party that a softer version of Hindutva is more suited for a state like Bengal where it registered its best performance in the last general elections by winning 18 seats.

Sensing a change in BJP’s game plan, Mamata Banerjee has been quick to make necessary alternations in her political blueprint. Earlier this month, MP Kalyan Banerjee posted a video of his participation in a Geeta Path on X. Banerjee called it a “truly divine experience that nourished the soul.”
Banerjee is also slated to inaugurate a grand Jaganath Temple being built by the state government at Digha in Midnapore resembling the one at Puri in Odisha. A perfect foil to BJP’s campaign after the grand opening of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya by Prime Minister Modi in January.

As the election commission prepares to blow the bugle for the Lok Sabha polls, both sides in Bengal test the latest acquisitions to their armory for the big battle in the summer of 2024.