The Bhabanipur Assembly bye-election is not only crucial for Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee for securing her post as Chief Minister but also to strengthen her national ambition. A victory at Bhabanipur will benefit her in several ways.
If she secures the seat then it will save her from the embarrassment of resigning as Chief Minister for being unable to get elected to the Assembly within six months after taking the oath.
She took oath as the Chief Minister on May 5.
She will also be able to claim that the BJP is no match for her in West Bengal and dub her defeat Nandigram to the saffron party’s Suvendu Adhikari as a one time upset. If she is able to fend off the saffron party’s onslaught twice then it will be easier for the TMC to project her as the face of the proposed anti-BJP opposition alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Mamata’s speech at a TMC workers’ meeting in Kolkata on September 9 makes it evident how she considers the bye-election crucial for her national ambition. "Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the bye-election is crucial. After this, there will be the municipal elections. We have to win in all of them,” said Mamata.
A victory at Bhabanipur will also enable her to blunt the BJP’s criticism that even if she was rejected by the people at Nandigram in her own State, she was trying to project herself as a leader of national stature. Ever since her defeat at Nandigram, Adhikari has been taking potshots at her calling her "non-MLA CM".
This seems to be the reason why the Bengal BJP was desperate to delay the bye-election. In a bid to keep Mamata under pressure, State BJP president Dilip Ghosh even questioned the Election Commission’s (EC) neutrality.
"Bye-elections were due in five constituencies. Then why it was declared only in one seat? Is the Election Commission somehow influenced?" said Ghosh.
"The TMC has to ensure that she wins from Bhabanipur with a bigger margin than its candidate in the last Assembly election to highlight her popularity to strengthen her national ambition,” political observer and author Snigdhendu Bhattacharya told DH.
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