JOIN USIs BJP’s demand for President’s rule in West Bengal just an election gimmick?
One of the often-repeated arguments by BJP leaders regarding West Bengal is that President’s rule should be imposed in the state as the law and order situation there has totally collapsed. Several BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, had given rise to speculation over imposition of President’s rule in the state.
But the fact that the Centre never took any follow-up actions indicates that it is just a means of keeping the BJP workers' morale high till the Assembly elections next year.
During his recent visit to Bengal, Shah said that the Centre could take a call on the issue depending on the Governor’s report. However, he promptly added that there would not be any need for such a step as the BJP would come to power in Bengal in the 2021 Assembly elections, making his answer vague.
The latest addition to this is Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh. He said on Friday that “we are not in favour of imposing Article 356 in Bengal on principle, but the way the violence and murder are increasing in Bengal, I am not sure whether such a situation will occur in future.” In a nutshell, BJP’s stand on imposing President’s rule in Bengal has been to raise the issue repeatedly, but not to act upon it.
They seek to use the issue to keep the morale of BJP workers high till the next Assembly elections by creating an impression that it is just a matter of time before the party comes to power in Bengal. BJP insiders revealed that Shah instructed state leaders to create the same impression among party workers by constantly reaching out to them.
Similar tactics were adopted by the saffron party in run up to the last Lok Sabha elections. At an election rally in Bengal ahead of the election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him and they would leave Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after the election results were declared. But nothing as such happened.