Modi, BJP have entered Mamata's backyard

Atiny lane leads to the oldest mosque in Asansol town. Maulana Imdadullah Rashidi, the imam, lives on the first floor of the mosque. His son was killed a year ago, allegedly by a group of Hindus, on Ram Navami day. A crowd of Muslims caught hold of two Hindus and wanted to kill them in retaliation. The imam stopped the crowd, saying he would leave the town for good if they harmed the two Hindus.

It prevented a communal riot, and Rashidi received thousands of calls appreciating his great-heartedness. On the polling day in Asansol, I asked him if his name was used in the election campaign. “Many political leaders across India called me,” he said. “Leaders in Bengal met me. But they did not ask me to support any political party.”

The imam was a bit upset that Prime Minister Narendra Modi never called him. “If he can call everyone after donating a gas cylinder, why not me? Is he not my prime minister, too?” he asked.

BJP leader Babul Supriyo, the local MP, was one of those who called. The singer-turned politician offered a soiree for the imam. He turned it down.

On May 23, however, the BJP in Bengal burst into song as it made massive gains in the Lok Sabha elections at the expense of the ruling Trinamool Congress. It improved the tally to 18, from the two it had. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who fought the BJP’s advancement tooth and nail, cut a lonely figure at the end of the day. She had wished to play a bigger role in Delhi along with regional leaders from other states. They all had a drubbing.

Mamata now has a lot to worry about. The Trinamool Congress was defeated in the three flashpoints that had brought her to power in 2011—Junglemahal, Singur and Nandigram. The party lost Hooghly under which Singur falls, Medinipur under which Nandigram falls, and three constituencies that make Junglemahal. The BJP also breached the Congress citadel of Malda, winning a constituency in the Muslim-dominated district.

It has not been an easy task for the BJP. “In Bengal, the wave does not work,” said Arvind Menon, the party’s strategist in Bengal and a close associate of party president Amit Shah. “The party has to battle it out. Politically it is the worst place in India. We have been able to garner support of the people to fight against Mamata Banerjee, who has showed the worst mindset in the run up to the elections.”

The BJP, however, is in no hurry to pull down Mamata, as it fears that such a move would make her a hero. “Trust us, we will never play the politics of negativism in Bengal,” said BJP joint secretary (organisation)Shiv Prakash. “Brick by brick we have built the organisation in a place which was difficult for us to do it. Now we will not spoil it. We are sure people of Bengal will discard this government.”

The plan to win Bengal was made in 2015 when Prakash, who was in charge of western Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, was sent to Bengal. As local leaders were reluctant to join the BJP, he brought people from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. Within months he reaped results, as Bengalis also started joining the party. Prakash then wanted the help of a strategist, and that was how Menon was sent to Bengal.

Prakash and Menon, along with Kailash Vijayvargiya, built party IT cells with some 15,000 people. They unleashed a campaign on social media, effectively using hindutva to take on Mamata. They created and played up controversies on Durga Puja and Ram Navami. An overconfident Mamata walked into the trap.

Senior Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee, however, said the BJP’s rise in Bengal was temporary. “Don’t take it seriously,” he said. “It is not easy to defeat Mamata. Ultimately she will fight back.” Mukherjee, a minister, lost to the BJP’s Subhas Sarkar in Bankura.

The rise of the BJP in the east is not limited to Bengal. It did well in Assam, despite the row over the National Register of Citizens. Badruddin Ajmal of the All India United Democratic Front had tried for an alliance with the Congress so as not to split anti-BJP votes. He said the negotiations broke midway. “Worse, the Congress put strong candidates against us,” said Ajmal.

The BJP fared well in Manipur along with its allies, and in Tripura it won both seats. Sikkim, which had simultaneous election to the assembly, threw up a surprise. The Sikkim Democratic Front of Pawan Kumar Chamling, the longest serving chief minister in India, lost to the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha.