The unrealistic Ram-Baam-Shyam ‘alliance’ is Trinamool’s worry in Bengal

A recent by-election offered an unexpected outcome, when a Left-backed Congress candidate won the seat which has been with Trinamool since 2011

The Ram-Baam-Shyam, a phrase collectively referring to the BJP, the CPI-M (representing the Left), the Congress, is not a formal ‘coalition’ in West Bengal. The ruling Trinamool Congress, however, sees its political opponents working in tandem against itself, and now tags them as one.

Prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections too, the Trinamool chief had raised the allegation against the Left-Congress bonding of helping the BJP.

There are instances where the hypothesis seems to be holding ground, yet it’s unrealistic to even assume that supporters of two opposing political and ideological polarities are converging on a mass scale, to check the growth of a common opponent.

A recent by-election in the state's Sagardighi assembly constituency offered an unexpected outcome when a Left-backed Congress candidate won the seat which has been with Trinamool since 2011. Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee also observed BJP’s ‘transfer’ of votes as a factor.

Last Tuesday, when political parties gathered at Bogtui, in Birbhum district, to remember people who had lost lives in a carnage last year, the BJP’s gathering had people sporting religious caps that identified them as Muslims, Bengal’s largest minority community that’s said to have voted for Trinamool in successive elections. BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari, who was present, mentioned that he was not there to ask for votes, and it was more about being with the affected families.

In November last year, a hyperlocal cooperative society election in the Purba Medinipur district had supporters of two political opponents coming together to defeat candidates having allegiance to the ruling party.

Jay Prakash Majumdar, a vice president with Trinamool Congress says that four parties – the BJP, the Congress, the CPI(M), and the ISF (allied to Left Front) – are functioning together to oppose the Trinamool. “For instance, Congress, instead of opposing the BJP, is more busy opposing the Trinamool and Mamata Banerjee. The manifestos in 2021 focused on Trinamool. This is certainly beneficial for the BJP,” he said, adding that there can’t be double standards – one for the national politics, one for the state.

Samik Bhattacharya, chief spokesperson, BJP-Bengal, however, claims that there is a sense of betrayal among commoners after instances of corruption have come to light. “Voters are nobody’s. Tagging them in categories is insulting the political consciousness of the people,” he said, adding that in Bengal, there have been instances of Muslims being subjected to hardships if they supported the BJP.

The Left-backed Congress MLA, Bayron Biswas who won from Sagardighi recently, discards the notion that BJP votes got transferred to him, as the region has traditionally been with the Congress, and voters who may have opted for different parties, just voted for Congress, again.

Political analyst Shikha Mukerjee states: “This is an accusation that Mamata Banerjee has made. During rural polls, party lines get blurred and hyper-local issues get a priority. This could offer differing interpretations, but there’s no ‘R-S-B’ as yet, and I certainly don’t see it happening for the Lok Sabha elections in the state.” Mukherjee says that the BJP runs a lavish political apparatus. There will always be some people who will be attracted”. Also, the party is reaching out to the community that has voted in large numbers for the Trinamool.