BJP, TMC battling each other to prove themselves better Bengalis

BJP leaders are keen on highlighting their “Bengali connection” either by lauding Bengal’s luminaries and quoting their works

With the Assembly elections in West Bengal around the corner, the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are desperately trying to outwit each other in their bid to convince Bengali voters that they are the real champions of Bengali culture and their leaders are better Bengalis than those of the rival party.

BJP’s top brass Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda are leading the charge. All three leaders are keen on highlighting their “Bengali connection” either by lauding Bengal’s luminaries and quoting their works or, in the case of Nadda, referring to their family connections to Bengal.

This became evident during the Prime Minister’s virtual address at Visva Bharati University’s centenary celebrations last month where he not only recited at length a poem of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali but argued that his philosophy formed the essence of the Centre’s initiative Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

The Prime Minister’s repeated reference to Tagore’s connection with Gujarat and wrong pronunciation of a word in Tagore’s poem gave the TMC fresh ammunition to dub him as an “outsider” to the State who was “insensitive” to the culture of Bengal.

During his visit to the State earlier this month, Nadda referred to his traditional Bengali wedding to convey the message to voters that his connection to Bengal was not just limited to politics.

BJP’s bid to prove its Bengali credentials suffered another embarrassing gaffe when on January 13 in a tweet from the Bengal BJP’s official Twitter handle, which was later deleted, erroneously stated that Visva Bharati was Tagore’s birthplace and even attributed the comment to Nadda. The TMC used the gaffe to label BJP leaders as “outsiders”.

The TMC seems to have an advantage on the cultural front as their top leaders including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are born and brought up in Bengal and do not require to familiarise themselves with the State’s culture.

“We regard only those who are trying to disrupt peace in Bengal with their divisive politics for electoral gains as outsiders,” a senior TMC leader said. He also said that “ Bengali pride ” would be a key poll plank for TMC in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Speaking to DH, State BJP president Jay Prakash Majumdar said, “TMC is trying to set up this narrative that they are the better Bengalis. TMC’s strategy is to dub BJP as a ‘party of outsiders’ and claim themselves to be a party of Bengal. This tactical position is untenable in Bengal that it creates more confusion than vindication of their stand.”