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Nandigram has once again become a key political battleground. Unlike 2021, the focus this time is on Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari. Former close aide of Suvendu, Pabitra Kar, switched to Trinamool Congress (TMC) and was given ticket to contest from Nandigram. The defection — timing, messaging and disruption — is a masterstroke by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. TMC leaders interpret Pabitra’s candidature as an indication that political equations in Nandigram are changing. The move raises questions about Suvendu’s organisational strength and internal stability. Kar poses a serious threat as he knows the local terrain and Suvendu’s political network from within. BJP leaders acknowledge the challenge admitting that the contest in Nandigram has become more uncertain due to this development, but maintain that Suvendu retains a strong voter base. Kar has grassroots connections, family political presence, and links with local religious organisations. Local BJP unit has admitted that the timing of the defection has hurt perception, though its real impact will depend on ground-level translation. Defections like this can influence booth management, cadre morale, and voter perception. A section of the party believes that local workers may face confusion due to Kar’s shift, affecting campaign coordination. Nandigram has a history of tight elections—Didi lost by just 1,956 votes against Suvendu in 2021. Nandigram remains politically symbolic and emotionally significant in Bengal politics. Political observers believe that elections here are decided by booth management, local equations, and last-mile outreach—not rallies. Kar’s insider knowledge could influence these micro-level dynamics. For Suvendu, 2026 elections is a different test as he must not only defend Nandigram but also Bhabanipur where he challenges Mamata Banerjee.
There is bitterness in Mumbai City with the Mumbai Cricket Association (Wankhede Stadium) not being awarded one of the five Test matches for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia for the home international season of 2026-2027. The rancour is misplaced though. The BCCI follows a rotation policy to award Test matches. In the yesteryears, Bombay (Mumbai Cricket Association), Madras (Tamil Nadu CA) /now Chennai), Kanpur/Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh CA), Kolkata (Cricket Association of Bengal) and Delhi (Delhi & Districts CA) were determined as the permanent Test centres and they held the multi-day Test matches by rotation. Afterwards, Bengaluru (Karnataka State CA), Hyderabad (Hyderabad CA), Ahmedabad (Gujarat CA) and Mohali (Punjab CA) and Nagpur (Vidarbha CA) were added to the Test-match centre list. The numbers swelled in the last decade or so with Ranchi, Dharamsala, Indore, Rajkot, Pune, Visakhapatnam and Guwahati added as Test match centres. The first Test in India was held at the Bombay Gymkhana and the nearby Cricket Club of India has played host to 18 Tests at the Brabourne Stadium. The Corporation Stadium in Chennai has hosted nine Test matches. In the first week of June, New Chandigarh will join the Test match centre list. With the BCCI members creating new infrastructure, the first five permanent Test centres have been losing out, forced to share Test matches with new centres. Ahmedabad has held more in the last five years because it had to forgo matches for three years because the Stadium at Motera was being rebuilt. Ditto seems to be the case with Guwahati that made its Test debut hosting the India-South Africa Test last November. The Mumbai CA may help its cause by playing Ranji Trophy matches at the Wankhede and demonstrate that the Churchgate venue is its primary ground, not the one at BKC.
With less than two weeks to go for the Kerala Assembly polls on April 9, party workers are intensely praying in Delhi that the Congress decisively wins this election. Prayers for a UDF win is to ensure that powerful AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal — perceived to be the root cause of all problems plaguing the party — moves to his home turf as CM. The Alappuzha Lok Sabha MP had reportedly paved the way for his own career switch by dominating the state candidate list. Majority of the 95 Congress MLAs for 140 assembly seats were picked by him. A sizable section also owe loyalty to senior leader Ramesh Chennithala. A handful of tickets have been given to the most popular CM face — LoP, V D Satheesan. Party sources said if Congress wins, Venugopal is likely to persuade Rahul Gandhi to send him to Thirvanathapuram as CM. “The only thing that may deny Congress a sweep is that we fear Muslims are still not comfortable with us. They suspect we have a pro-Christian bias. Of course, this time all our CM contenders are Nairs. Era of A K Anthony, Oomen Chandy, the league of Christian leaders from Congress is over…yet we found the Muslims were moving away and falling back on Pinarayi Vijayan,” conceded a top Cong source. Of course, the UDF has a long standing alliance with IUML. Besides there is a tacit understanding between the BJP and CPI(M) with the former relying on its NDA ally in Kerala —Twenty20 Party (active in Ernakulam)—to take on the UDF. Meanwhile, former Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurian stirred some interest by suggesting that Ramesh Chennithala would be the CM. Later Kurian conceded that he had made the remark as Chennithala had just walked into the meeting. “I am aware everything will be decided by Rahulji,” he said.
Tamil Nadu’s run up to this election has been quite surprising, often quite shocking …the attitude, demands and ego trips of alliance partners could have upset any other politician but chief minister MK Stalin. There is a popular Hindi song Bade Miyan To Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan Subhan Allah. Exactly how Rahul Gandhi’s whimsical demands rocked the alliance in Puducherry; he suggested that Congress could fight in the same constituencies as the alliance party, calling it a “friendly fight”. Fortunately for the party, Mallikarjun Kharge took over the seat sharing talks in TN with Stalin but insisted on taking three favoured seats, one being Velachery. In the last election DMK sacrificed this high-profile seat to Congress. The Congress candidate neglected Velachery. Stalin did not relent on this one. The tail wagging the dog took an even more comical yet irritable negotiation turn when DMDK supremo, Premalatha(wife of the late Vijayakanth ) walked in to meet the old DMK warhorse T R Baalu, for seat sharing talks. Baalu has seen many such grandstanding alliance party heads. But Premalatha’s impossible seat demands made Baalu see red. She wanted three DMK winnable seats …Vikravandi, Virugambakkam and one more. Baalu’s reference to the Rajya Sabha seat already in the DMDK bag made Premalatha see a more crimson red. “What Rajya Sabha? You can keep it …we shall resign now”. Stalin is seen as a punching bag by desperate allies, even as the DMK put on a brave front.
The Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit), a partner of ruling Mahayuti alliance, is again finding itself in a corner. The latest embarrassment is a video clip, allegedly showing minister Narhari Zirawal in a questionable position in company of a transgender at his official ministerial residence. A former deputy speaker of the state assembly, Zirawal is a tribal and a long-time follower of the late Ajit Pawar. Even earlier, Zirawal was found embroiled in a controversy when his personal assistant was caught accepting bribes in Mantralaya. Before that, Zirawal had jumped into the safety net from the sixth floor of Mantralaya to press some demands of the tribal sections in the state. As the pressure is mounting on chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to sack the minister, the delicate power balance is facing a litmus test. Ajit’s widow, Sunetra Pawar is burdened with deciding the fate of Zirawal. Already facing the impending assembly byelection challenge, Sunetra will have to show her leadership qualities. The NCP (A) is finding itself caught in a web over the exposes concerning Nasik Godman Ashok Kharat. At the centre of the scandal is Rupali Chakankar, even now president of the women’s wing of the state unit of the party. Rupali was compelled to resign her post as chairperson of the State Women’s Commission following the shocking disclosures concerning Kharat. All in all, the NCP (A) will have to wade through a political challenge soon.
Shiv Sena (UBT) scion Aaditya Thackeray’s reported tiff with party MP Sanjay Raut over the earlier decision to yield the lone Rajya Sabha seat to veteran leader Sharad Pawar is the talk of the town, even after the spokesman has discounted any such development. As the term of party MP Priyanka Chaturvedi is over, the suspense over her renomination has ended but the internal differences over the issue are having an echo even now. Aaditya’s opposition to Pawar’s new Rajay Sabha term on the strength of the Sena (UBT) had surfaced when Priyanka’s future was being discussed. At the time, Raut had vehemently asserted that Pawar will be in the Rajya Sabha for another six years and Aaditya had expressed his unhappiness at the outcome. Over the past few days, news speculation about the recurrence of ‘Operation Tiger’ in Maharashtra began afresh, with whispers that certain Sena (UBT) MPs were likely to defect to the NDA. In the wake of their increasing frequency, Uddhav Thackeray summoned the MPs to Matoshri to understand their mind. Coincidentally, Raut was not present for the meeting as his book ‘Unlikely Paradise’ was being released in New Delhi the same day. Finding himself at the receiving end, Raut now has refuted the media coverage of the reported tiff. At the same time, he has declared that he will never leave the Shiv Sena (UBT). Uddhav is yet to comment on the matter.
Amidst West Asia war crises and disruptions in energy supply and emerging geopolitical risks, the BJP-led government in Odisha is now making international headlines. After steel and mining prowess, the Odisha government is seriously contemplating to set up the world’s largest underground 4 million tonne crude oil storage facility at Chandikhole, Jajpur district entailing an investment of Rs 8,743 crore. This project was conceived during Naveen Patnaik times. But, it remained only on paper…gathering dust for the last seven years. The current war in West Asia has triggered of energy crises globally and this gave the current chief minister of Odisha Mohan Charan Majhi to relook at the project. The main issue now is to quickly allot 400 acres of land to Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd. It is learnt that the BJP’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan nudged both the Odisha CM and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to fast track the strategic underground crude oil storage facility terming it as a national project which has been delayed for 7 years because of land issue and bureaucratic delays. Sources say 286 acres are now being processed while the remaining land may take another two months. Only when the entire 400 acres of land parcel is handed over to ISPRL will the project take off?
In a strategic shift ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal, the BJP has decided to release a comprehensive “chargesheet” alleging decline in various sectors in the state during the 15-year rule of Chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Party sources said that before unveiling its election manifesto, this document will be released on March 28 by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and is expected to outline a series of allegations against the state government in 14 key areas. The chargesheet will not only target Mamata but will also hold her nephew and second-in-command of the party, Abhishek Banerjee accountable. The move signals a recalibration of the BJP’s campaign approach, placing emphasis on alleged governance failures before presenting its Bengal Manifesto in early April. The broader outline of these allegations includes corruption and scandals such as the ration scam, irregularities in School Service Commission recruitment leading to 26,000 job losses, misappropriation in the mid-day meal scheme and also cattle smuggling syndicate. Besides these, the BJP has also levelled allegations on administrative breakdown and political mis-governance, Incidentally, the TMC has already published its manifesto charting out “Didi’s Dash Protigya” (Didi’s 10 Promise). Following the chargesheet, the BJP’s manifesto is likely to outline a range of promises, including increased funding for existing welfare schemes such as Lakshmir Bhandar and Yuva Sathi, development of Singur as an industrial hub, and improved road connectivity between North and South Bengal. Besides, the central leadership is also expected to include the promise to implement the 7th Pay Commission within 45 days of coming to power and payment of pending Dearness Allowance dues.
Food culture has emerged as a parallel campaign theme in the current West Bengal assembly election. The phrase “Mache Bhaate Bangali”, signifying the deep-rooted connection between Bengalis and fish-rice cuisine, has gained prominence in the political discourse. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier foregrounded “Bengali asmita” in her campaign. Food habits are now being projected as an extension of that identity. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has sought to frame dietary practices as part of the state’s cultural fabric, raising concerns that these may come under threat with the BJP’s possible rise in influence. TMC leaders have repeatedly portrayed the BJP as an “outsider” force and flagged issues around “vegetarianism” and restrictions on meat consumption in BJP-ruled states. They have suggested that similar policies could affect Bengal’s established culinary traditions. Mamata Banerjee has alleged “food control politics”, warning that dietary freedoms, including the consumption of fish and meat, may be at risk. The BJP in West Bengal has responded by rejecting allegations of imposing dietary restrictions. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said fish and meat would remain part of daily life, while indicating that certain regulatory positions on beef would continue. BJP candidates have also sought to emphasise their connection with local food culture. Campaign activities have included public displays of consuming fish and carrying staple varieties such as katla and rohu during outreach programmes. Leaders including Swapan Dasgupta and Rudranil Ghosh have highlighted their preference for traditional Bengali meals. Bidhannagar candidate Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay drew attention by carrying a raw katla fish during campaigning. With campaigning intensifying, the TMC is expected to sharpen its “outsider versus insider” narrative, focusing on cultural identity. The BJP, meanwhile, is attempting to recalibrate its messaging to counter perceptions of cultural disconnect...
After the Congress roped in Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar (DKS) as a central observer for Assam polls, the BJP initially felt the compulsion to rush in Tejasvi Surya, the young MP from Bangalore South to counter the narratives for the ruling party in Assam. However, DKS who initially felt there was “a strong wind in favour of a change,” in the North Eastern State, going to polls on April 9, changed his opinion after a first-hand assessment. One visit to Guwahati made the senior Karnataka leader change his mind. He felt there was no need to spend precious “resources” on campaigns and candidates. He shared his views with top party bosses including Priyanka Gandhi who is handling the poll-bound state. With steady erosion of Congress leaders who were seen making a beeline to join the BJP, DKS found the Congress organisation itself in a precarious position. Exit of a Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi just ahead of elections to 126 assembly seats was a clear indication that the rot had set in. The BJP has set the target to form the government for the third term with CM Himanta Sarma at the helm. By making DKS an important part of the Congress battle in Assam, the party had sought to highlight the commitment of a Congressman. Despite differences with Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, DKS had not betrayed Congress. The Congress wanted to contrast DKS’s commitment to Congress with Himanta Sharma who had quit the Congress to join the BJP in 2015 and became Assam CM in 2021. It also wanted to highlight the success story of Karnataka under Congress. However, with non-fulfilment of guarantees in Karnataka, the Congress will find it difficult to hard sell the Karnataka model in Assam. With or without DKS.
The CPI(M) which has been out of power for over a decade in West Bengal and reduced to zero seats in both the Lok Sabha and the Assembly, is contemplating contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election only in constituencies where it feels confident of doing well. In other words, it will contest only from a few constituencies. According to CPI(M) sources, the Left party is keen on contesting from Murshidabad, Maldah North, Krishnanagar, and Raiganj. There were also talks that if the tripartite alliance with Congress and ISF works out it would give up seats like Diamond Harbour, Uluberia, and Sreerampore to ISF and the Basirhat seat to sole ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui, if its partner CPI agrees. Interestingly, CPI(M) is optimistic about the Krishnanagar seat owing to its vote percentage in the 2021 State Assembly election and 2022 panchayat poll. The party’s vote percentage was more than 30% in several areas including Nakashipara, Palashipara, Tehatta and Krishnanagar, won by TMC’s Mahua Moitra in 2019. It may be noted that CPI(M)’s last representation in Lok Sabha was in 2014 where two seats of Raiganj and Murshidabad were won by Mohammad Salim and Badruddoza Khan respectively. But, in 2019, Congress refused to let go of these two seats thus helping TMC to gain Murshidabad seat and Raiganj to BJP. However, Congress blamed CPI(M) for announcing the candidate list unilaterally which led to the calling of the alliance. However, the CPM state secretariat is still not sure what will be the final understanding with the Congress.
Bengali filmmakers have begun dubbing their movies in other languages to reach the pan-India audience. By dubbing their films, Bengali filmmakers are able to break the language barrier and appeal to moviegoers who may not understand Bengali but are interested in the content and storytelling. Interestingly, Tollywood superstar turned producer Jeet Madnani began by breaking into the pan-India mould by releasing his movies in Hindi too. His first one was the blockbuster commercial flick Chengiz. Jeet feels that not only as an actor but as a producer he must take Bengali cinema to a whole new level making it the next big film industry like Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. His recent release an action drama Manush: Child of Destiny was dubbed in Hindi. Not only Jeet, Superstar Dev, one of the most successful actor-producers, released the biopic on Freedom Fighter Bagha Jatin in Bengali and Hindi. But the most talked about attempt has been from director-duo Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee whose Raktabeej became the first Bengali film to be released in four languages — Bengali, Assamese, Hindi and Oriya. Shibu, as commonly called, feels that these eastern regions have a good market for Bengali films since many Bengalis hail from these states too and those natives do have keen interest in Bengali content.
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Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee leaves no stone unturned to play the secular card. On January 22 — the Ram Mandir inauguration day — Didi has organised Sarba Dharm Yatra which will show her visiting Mandir, Masjid, Girja in Kolkata to establish her secular identity. Didi’s whose residence is near one of the renowned Kali Temple of Kalighat will be offering her prayers and then join the procession to convey the message of all-religion harmony. Her next stop will be at a mosque in Ballygunge, where she will be offering “chadar”. Following which Didi will light candles at a Church in Park Circus where a stage will be set up for the Peace and Harmony rally. According to Trinamool sources, no politician will be on that stage, instead representatives of all religions including Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis and Muslims will be present. Besides them only Mamata will be addressing the crowd on that day. It may be noted that the Bengal CM was invited by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the inaugural function, which she declined citing that it to be a political gimmick by the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha Election 2024. Incidentally, Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari moved the court to stop Mamata’s solidarity march, but was declined by Calcutta High Court.
The CPI(M) in West Bengal has largely voted in favour of an alliance with the Congress but with a rider. The heavyweights at Bengal headquarters in Alimuddin Street have made it categorical that the Congress will have to make its position clear on alliance for 2024 general election since the Congress high command seems to be in favour of alliance with Trinamool Congress. According to sources, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Salim has explained to the party’s rank and file that it will keep fighting BJP and Trinamool in the state. Significantly, Salim has also made it categorical that if Congress manages an alliance with the Trinamool and at the same time look for holding hands with CPI(M), the Left will come out of such a tripartite alliance. The state secretary of CPI(M) has made it clear that there will be no ‘reconciliation’ with the Trinamool. According to political analysts, CPI(M) decision of going alone in Bengal is mainly because of the results of panchayat elections and last year’s civic polls which shows that the combined vote share of the Left, the Congress and the Indian Secular Front – which stood at a meagre 10% in the 2021 assembly election – has crossed the 20% mark in the panchayat election. Interestingly, CPI(M)’s share of vote percentage has gone up from 6% to 14% in comparison to 2018’s panchayat elections.
Walking the same path of the CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bengal BJP, has created a new cell, ‘Cultural Promotion’ within the Election Management Committee to promote its ideologies and visions. It may be noted that CPI(M)’s Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), the cultural wing, has always been used in election campaigns. Ditto TMC. Incidentally, BJP’s Cultural Promotional Wing will be having two divisions namely ‘Loksanskrit Dal’ and ‘Path Natak’ to be handled by actors Papiya Adhikary and Rudranil Ghosh respectively. Papiya’s association with films and commercial theatres (jatras) will be catering to BJP’s needs. Moreover her dance group ‘Mukti’ mainly stages programmes which will help BJP to spread its political messages. However, Papiya refused to give any details about the arrangement but admitted to having been present during the recent BJP’s election management committee meeting. Even Rudranil unwilling to speak about the development, but is learnt that he directed the theme song that the state BJP made ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s meeting in Kolkata. BJP sources said that this time, the BJP wants him to set up small street drama groups all over the state and stage dramas as part of Lok Sabha election campaign. It may be recalled that both Papiya and Rudranil joined the BJP before the last assembly elections where Papiya contested from Uluberia South in Howrah and Rudranil from Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata, which neither could win.
Two 16-year-old school students, Hrishit Deb of K.R. Mangalam World School, GK-II, New Delhi and Sri Mansi Katuri from Emerson High School, McKinney, Texas, US have developed an app that offers career counselling. Called Kwicon, this app is aimed at empowering students with transformative education, practical experience, mentorship, and networking for personal and professional growth. This app was among top 400 innovations presented at the prestigious ATL Marathon 2022-23 which is Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission. Significantly, Hrishit pointed out that with Class 10-12 board examinations due in a month, students undergo stress and concerns about the fact that if they can’t get the desired marks what will be their career options. There are an increased number of mental health cases post examinations. A recent survey across schools in India says that a whopping 80% of students are clueless about what they need to do after the board examination. Only 15% of students between Class 9 and Class 12 are sure of what courses to pursue. The survey also revealed that only 50% of parents have clarity about their children’s career path. Kwicon app allows students and alumni to connect based on shared interests, majors, and career goals.
Amid growing differences between the senior bloc and the new bloc of state BJP and several lobbies of the top functionaries of the Bengal unit, the Central BJP unit has decided to work with a private political consulting agency for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Jarvis Technology & Strategy Consulting has been appointed to counter ruling Trinamool Congress’ political strategist the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), created by Prashant Kishor. Party sources said that there won’t be any conflicts in the functioning of the agency and the BJP state unit. While the party’s state leadership will handle political campaigns and grassroots outreach initiatives, the agency will carry out on-the-ground and backup research to provide information to the state leadership which can enable political tactics for the state unit. Interestingly, State BJP president, Sukanta Majumdar hasn’t acknowledged or refuted the development, though asserting that election strategies are private and internal affairs. Meanwhile, party insiders said that as per initial plans, the consulting agency will operate not only from Kolkata but will set up camp offices in different districts of the state as well. Incidentally, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National President JP Nadda who recently visited Kolkata made it categorical to the state unit that they will have to frame their strategies and policies to target 35 LS seat-win in 2024. Further, they must intensify social media campaigns from now on.
At a time when Trinamool Congress (TMC) is rife with the debate of old guard vs new guard, there is a strong vibe of tickets being distributed on the basis of age. Party’s second in command Abhishek Banerjee has been pushing for 65 years as the upper limit of age for contesting a poll and holding party post. However, Didi thinks otherwise where in her words, “The age is in mind, and as long as you can serve people you need to continue.” Interestingly, if Abhishek’s theory is to be considered then at present out of 23 MPs, 10 MPs are above the age bracket. They are: Sudip Banerjee (71), Sougata Roy (77), Shatrughan Sinha (77), Mala Roy (66) and Kakali Ghosh (65). Besides age there are other exclusion criteria. For instance, TMC MP Sisir Adhikari, father of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari may be replaced. Significantly, if TMC goes by age criterion then it will have to bring 29 new faces out of 42 seats that they would be contesting in 2024 polls. Besides, party sources indicated that TMC may field in the seats they lost in 2019 Lok Sabha election. Incidentally, the TMC’s candidate list in 2019 polls was a mixed bag comprising stars, youth, seniors, women and backward. They helped the party. So one has to wait-and-watch who has their way –Didi or nephew.
In a major blow to the organisers of the ‘Ek Lokho Konthe Gita Path’ (Gita Chant in Lakh Voices) event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly not attending the Brigade Parade Ground event in Kolkata on December 24 because of a government programme. PM Modi was supposed to recite the Gita with Shankaracharya Sadanand Saraswati. Besides Modi not attending, the organiser has yet to get confirmation from the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. In a show of strength for the past three months, Bengal BJP went ahead with the plan keeping PM Modi at the forefront. It is learnt that not only the Sanatanis but also BJP workers and functionaries are hugely disappointed with this development. Meanwhile, Assembly Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari and BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar convened an emergency meeting after being informed by the PMO about the PM’s absence. Party sources said that frustration is evident among the workers as the city has witnessed extensive displays of banners and posters featuring the Prime Minister announcing his presence at the programme. It is also learnt that around 3,500 sants (sadhus) will be coming for the event and over 55,000 Bengali translations and 34,000 Hindi copies of the Bhagavad Gita have been sold in the last 10 days.
For several days, the issue of the age of political leadership rocked Trinamool Congress. The party which is reportedly divided between Mamata front and Abhishek front found a smart way to move an end to this discussion. During the foundation day celebration of the Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress senior Trinamool leader and MP, Sudip Banerjee said that the senior leadership feels that the party must address workers as “Under the leadership of Mamata and commandership of Abhishek.” Echoing similar lines, veteran TMC leader and minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay has observed that he would rather like to portray Mamata as the driving force behind the party and Abhishek as the emerging leader of the party. Incidentally, Didi recently during a party programme made it clear that the ‘new’ has to pay respect to the ‘old’ and the ‘old’ has to bring the ‘new’ closer. Significantly, post this unexpected debate, Abhishek for the first time stated that party workers need to derive inspiration from veterans and yet it’s important to consider work efficiency and productivity after a certain age hence there should be a retirement age in politics. Incidentally, 10 out 23 of its Lok Sabha MPs are aged over 65 years, with many party seniors feeling the heat of their age as contestants in next year’s Lok Sabha polls swirl through the party ranks.
The Congress debacle in Hindi heartland in the recently held assembly polls puts it at a disadvantage to negotiate seat sharing for the 2024 general elections. According to sources, the Congress leadership has started preliminary talks with the leaders of several regional parties on seat settlement. Regional parties in I.N.D.I.A are in an ‘advantageous’ position with Congress losing three states. Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar in Bihar have got the opportunity to put Congress ‘under pressure’. Amid allegations of being a dictator in the coalition front, Congress felt the heat after several regional party heads Mamata, Akhilesh, Nitish saying “no” to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s hasty calling of the I.N.D.I.A. meeting. According to Delhi Congress sources, Rahul Gandhi has already held initial discussions with Mamata about seat sharing. It may be noted that Trinamool Congress has agreed to allot three seats out of 42 seats to Congress in the Lok Sabha polls. Two of the three constituencies are Adhir Chowdhury’s Baharampur and Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury’s Maldah South. The third constituency is the late Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi constituency — Raiganj in North Bengal. The agreement on these three seats is considered to be virtually final. Mamata who will be in Delhi on December 18, will attend the I.N.D.I.A. meeting which is called mainly for the seat sharing agreement between the alliance partners in the state.
Having stood by expelled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has left both Pradesh Congress and CPI (M) in a dilemma. In Bengal the party workers from both Cong and CPI (M) have questioned the stand as Trinamool is their rival and feels that the State BJP would be encashing the move. Significantly, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that Mahua will again contest from Krishnanagar seat. According to Pradesh Congress sources, having supported Mahua, will any Opposition candidates have a chance of winning? Moreover, the anti-BJP and minority votes are expected to go in favor of Mahua. It is further added that the party workers are skeptical of how to establish “setting” theory between Trinamool and BJP as claimed by Pradesh Congress President Adhir Chowdhury and CPI (M) State Secretary Mohammad Salim. A section of Congress and CPI (M) leaders feel that this will be giving Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari an upper hand of establishing his claim of Congress-CPI(M) being the B-team of Trinamool. However, Adhir has made it clear that support to Mahua since the beginning was similar to that of Rahul Gandhi where both were targeted for voicing against Adani, which is no way connected to opposing a corrupt Trinamool government in Bengal. Similarly, Salim, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and State member Sujan Chakraborty said that protesting against Mahua’s expulsion was because it was arbitrary, however, the party to continue its protest against both BJP and TMC in Bengal
From his artistic innovations to renovate Kolkata Tramways to debut solo art exhibition titled “Love and Longing” IAS officer, Rajanvir Singh Kapur is handling his administrative affairs and passion simultaneously. Kapur is currently Special Secretary, Sundarbans Affairs Department of Government of West Bengal and is the officer who brought a lot of artistic innovations in the Kolkata tramways from holding moving library to a restaurant during his previous charge as Managing Director of West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC). A self-taught artist, Rajan’s art depicts women empowerment, and also signifies the emotional states of love and longing created during the pandemic where many loved ones were separated by distance and many losing their loved ones. Besides paintings, Kapur also used Phulkari, a traditional embroidery in Punjab region, as an expression for his art work. He has taken the melange of love through various elements like jealousy, envy, seduction, taboo etc through paintings depicting each emotion. The launch of the art exhibition saw various artists and well-known personalities of the city. IAS officer Roshni Sen, Director Arindam Sil, Actor turned MLA Soham Chakraborty, Actor Pallavi Chatterjee, were amongst the many who attended the launch. Eminent painter Jogen Chowdhury observed that it is interesting to see how an administrator perceived art as he’s intrinsically involved in the daily lives of people owing to his work. Kapur believes that at present his arts are not for sale, but would if he needed to do it for a cause.
BJP is set to prepare a centre stage at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Gita Jayanti Celebration on December 24. It is apparent that the programme is the initiative of various organizations of the Sangh Parivar, yet the official organiser is Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad. Several functionaries of the organisation including central committee member of Vishva Hindu Parishad, Swami Nirgunananda Maharaj met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 17, officially inviting him to attend the programme. Over lakhs of monks across several Sanatan Hindu organisations such as Bharat Sevashram Sangha and others will be chanting Gita Sotras to mark the occasion named ‘Laksh Kante Gitapath’ (Gita Chants by Lakh Voices). The organisers along with BJP Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar presented the PM with the official invite on a silver plaque with Devnagari script written in copper. Manas Bhattacharya, member of the organising committee says that the PM has expressed his desire to chant Gita Sotras along with the monks. Even the President Draupadi Murmu has confirmed her presence. Claiming it to be a non-political event, Bhattacharya informed that they will also invite West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as the chief guest and other MPs and MLAs of the state across political parties. It may seem a non-political event but BJP will not let lose the opportunity to use the platform to drive home its Hindutva agenda in Bengal ahead of 2024 general elections.
In several months after some of her prominent party leaders were arrested for their alleged involvement in scams, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee in her first public endorsement not only stood by them but made it categorical that she will also apply the same tactics of arrests against BJP leaders. Reinstating her faith in party’s Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra in the eye of the storm in the “cash-for-query” case, Didi stated that it is the ploy of BJP to “oust Mahua ” from the Parliament. According to her, this would end up boosting the popularity and electoral prospects of the TMC MP, one of the Adani group’s fiercest critics. Interestingly, Didi named four arrested TMC leaders — Partha Chatterjee, Manik Bhattacharya, Anubrata Mondal and Jyotipriyo Mallick – and said they were not-guilty of money laundering in teacher’s recruitment scam, cattle smuggling scam and ration distribution scam. Sending a warning to BJP, Didi vowed to make it a revenge game by arresting eight BJP leaders with cases of criminal offenses. As a much needed step amid increasing allegations of scam against party leaders, TMC’s meeting at Netaji Indoor Stadium was to boost the morale of party members. BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari threatened to lodge an FIR against the chief minister for her comments to arrest “eight BJP leaders” in an act of “tit-for-tat”.
Family members of Bangladesh revolutionary poet Kazi Nazrul Islam living in India and Bangladesh came together in Kolkata to condemn the “distorted” AR Rahman rendition of Nazrul’s patriotic song Karar Oi Louho Kopat in the war biopic Pippa. The song was written by Islam in 1922 as a rousing nationalist anthem against the British Raj. It is learnt, a section of the family including Kazi Arindam, the poet’s younger grandson, and Khilkhil Kazi, Nazrul’s Dhaka-based granddaughter are likely to move the court against another family member — poet’s eldest grandson Anirban Kazi. Both claimed that Anirban signed as a witness to the “supposed contract” for the song’s adaptation and recreation license forged between Kalyani Kazi, Nazrul’s daughter-in-law, and the producers of the film in September 2021 in exchange for Rs 2 lakhs. Incidentally, Kalyani passed away in May 2023. Moreover, the copyrights of Nazrul’s works, currently held by the poet’s legal heirs, would expire in 2036. Khilkhil Kazi, who flew from Dhaka is one of the trustees of Nazrul Board of Bangladesh which permits artists to use Nazrul Giti in productions. The protesting family members have demanded immediate removal of the song from the movie and all digital platforms. To avoid such recurrence, both Arindam and Khilkhil Kazi have sought intervention from the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. They have requested Didi to set up a Nazrul Board of West Bengal, which will be represented by Arindam Kazi on behalf of the poet’s family to look into these copyright matters.
In a recent turn of events, the once powerful former BJP state president and Kharagpur Sadar MP Dilip Ghosh finds himself totally sidelined by his party. Apparently, his room at the party’s headquarters and also the main auditorium were put under locks. A few days back when he visited the party headquarters, he found that AC from his room had been removed. However, state functionaries dismisses these incidents saying it could be because the state party office has been shifted to the Salt Lake Sector V and the IT cell is under renovation. However, Ghosh’s close associates claim that ‘Dilipda’ was never informed of such a change. Party sources say that the state unit was immensely displeased with Ghosh’s decision to hold ‘Vijaya Sammelan’ after Durga Puja without taking permission from the state functionaries. This resulted in the decision that the party office in central Kolkata would not be opened for anyone without the permission of state president Sukanta Majumder. This is the second time Ghosh faces action from the party high command. In July this year he was removed from the position of National Vice President. Ghosh’s sidelining started after his initial attempt to ‘be friends’ with Majumder was thwarted and their statewide tour was mysteriously cancelled. It further worsened due to his regular criticisms of top leaders in the state unit.
Making her country and community proud is Roshini Mukerjee, senior banker-turned- fashion entrepreneur living in the UK for close to two decades. This Indian-British entrepreneur was awarded — Women in Business: Empowering Other Women in India. Roshni is the founder of the brand Myosutra which promises to bring forth culture to couture on sarees to bridge both worlds of Europe and Bengal. She was awarded at the Indo-UK Business meet in the Palaces of Westminster hosted by MP Bob Blackman. She received the award from MP Dean Russel. This is also a recognition of her drive, determination, and vision of entrepreneurship in the UK. Myosutra which was established in 2017 offers handpicked exclusive Bengal Handlooms where each piece is an artwork that reflects both worlds of Europe and Bengal. By setting up this business she has ensured women who suffer domestic violence find both solace and solution and in the process are empowered. Her unconditional love for the Indian craftsmanship has translated into Myosutra promoting Indian ethnic wear like sarees, kurtas, dhotis and accessories. Roshini has been making a conscious effort to showcase Bengal. Her aim is to uplift the women weavers of Bengal and also to make Indian culture and tradition more accessible to the British Indians, the British Asians and the British community.
At a time when the Ethics Committee of the Parliament gave its stamp on the recommendation to dismiss Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Maitra from parliamentary position in the case of exchange of money, the parliamentarian has got support not only from the second in command of the party – TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, but also from the arch rivals the CPI(M) and Congress. However, BJP MLA and Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari is not satisfied with that and claims that Mahua has done anti-national work and must be jailed. Taking a dig at the TMC leader who represents Krishnanagar constituency, Adhikari was categorical in stating that her membership is only a matter of time and people want such fraudulent MPs to go to jail. However, for the first time since the issue sparked, Abhishek stood by Mahua stating that the firebrand leader is “competent enough to fight her own battles”. Interestingly, veteran Congress leader Pradeep Bhattacharya stood by Mahua saying that he is doubtful about the logic behind the decision by majority. He further suggested Mahua should approach the court if possible. Echoing similar views, CPI(M) State Committee member Sujan Chakraborty said, ‘It was not understood how a person could be expelled at the same time be investigated upon by CBI. The ethics committee takes a different role arbitrarily. This activity of the Ethics Committee was not seen after allegations were raised against BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri in the Lok Sabha.”
The growing trend of Bengali Tollywood is that several actors turn producers in order to compete with the OTT creative works that have gained immense popularity post Covid pandemic. From superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jeet, Dev to parallel actors Parambrata Chattopadhyay, starlet duo Bonny Sengupta and Koushani Mukherjee and several others have started their own production houses. Majority of the actor-turned-producers have pointed out that their production ventures are mainly to explore themselves as actors in varied subjects and roles. According to Jeet, Grassroot Entertainment’ and Jeetz Filmworks focus mainly on commercial blockbusters with Jeet in the lead. It can be recalled that after establishing himself as a heartthrob of Bengali movies Dev set up his own production, Dev Entertainment Ventures which has produced Projapati, Tonic, Kishmish, Bagha Jatin and Durgo Rahasya. As Dev points out, it is important to do good content and establish oneself as an actor after having a good stint as a hero. However, Parambrata identifies that content is the only thing that matters to him the most. This cerebral actor established his first production house Workshop Productions in 2011 along with colleague actor Rudranil Ghosh but had to close it down. Now, with directors Aritra Sen and Supriyo Sen he has started Roadshow Films. Veteran Actor Prosenjit’s production house, NIDEAS Creations and Productions is giving opportunities to newcomers while Bonny and Koushani had to launch BK Entertainments only to break free from being typecast in romantic movies.
In an attempt to make a dent in West Bengal ahead of 2024 General Elections speculations are rife that the Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda are likely to take joint charge of the organisation of Bengal. According to sources, the state BJP has already been informed by the central leadership about the proposed arrangement. Moreover, during Shah’s recent visit to inaugurate Durga Puja Pandal of Santosh Mitra Square, he had categorically said, “I will come to Bengal regularly and will also talk about politics.” Echoing Shah, Nadda stated the same, mentioning that the BJP will ensure a corruption free Bengal. However, sources mentioned that continued internal feud in the Bengal BJP unit has resulted in these statements. There have been agitations, riots, clashes outside the party’s head office in Kolkata protesting the role of state leadership. Cadres tore district leaders and state president Sukanta Majumder’s posters. In separate incidents, two BJP MPs from Bengal face protests in their home turf. While Malda Uttar MP Khagen Murmu faced protests from villagers displaced by erosion, Union Minister of State Subhas Sarkar was locked at the party office by BJP supporters protesting his interference in appointments. Recently, old guards of state BJP have floated BJP Bachao Manch, and have taken to the path of agitation expressing their strong distrust of the role of the current state leadership. These incidents have left the central leadership extremely displeased with the state unit.
West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee returned to her office at Nabanna after one and half months due to her knee problem. Didi last visited her office on September 11 before she went to Spain and Dubai. She returned to Kolkata on September 23 and was forced to visit SSKM Superspeciality Hospital for knee problems. That’s when doctors advised her to rest. Since then, Didi has been working from home. As a result she was forced to ‘virtually’ inaugurate several Durga Puja pandals this year. On October 27, she went in person to attend the Durga Puja carnival at Red Road. Her government is under pressure — facing the twin blows of the arrest of her senior cabinet minister Jyotipriya Mallick in the ration distribution scam and Tata Motors winning the Singur case against the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. The arbitral tribunal has directed the West Bengal government to pay Rs 766 crore with interest to the automobile giant since they were forced to shelve the Nano project in 2008. TMC is weighing options to challenge the verdict.
With Durga puja revelry coming to an end, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress government received a jolt after one of its heavyweight ministers Jyotipriya Mallick was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with “ration distribution scam”. Mallick, commonly called Balu, received Didi’s support when she addressed the media at her residence and accused the BJP of targeting TMC in West Bengal and termed the raid as ‘vendetta politics’ ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Interestingly, the arrest comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah who visited Kolkata on the occasion of inauguration of one of the prestigious city puja pandals, claimed that the Central government will end corruption in Bengal. Incidentally, ED and CBI have arrested couple of arrests of TMC heavyweight leaders: Partha Chatterjee (Jul 2022), Anubrata Mondal (Aug 2022), Manik Battacharjee (Oct 2022), Jibonkrishna Saha (Apr 2023) and few more youth leaders in Teacher’s Recruitment Scam and Cattle Smuggling Scam. Recently, ED raided another Didi’s man and minister Firhad Hakim’s in the Municipal Recruitment Scam. There have been multiple summons to Didi’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira by the ED. West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, CPI(M) state member Sujan Chakraborty, and BJP State President Sukanta Majumder squarely blamed the chief minister for the high level of corruption in the state.
At a time when Bengali TV soap operas are paving way for budding actors and actresses, it is also becoming a trend that these are going off air before the end of their contractual run. Gone are those days of mega serials such as Janoni and Janmobhumi longest-run in Doordarshan Bangla during the 90s. Even with the advent of private satellite channels — Subarnolata in Zee Bangla, Sreemoyee in Star Jalsa witnessed a shelf-life of 4-5 years. However, few shows make it past the 100-episode these days, making it difficult for TV networks and producers to break even. Incidentally, as consumption is shifting to OTT platforms, seasoned producers and networks are keen on the new format of ‘TV orginals’ made on a comparatively less budget than that of an episode for a TV serial. In recent times several noted serials such as Balijhor, Ekka Dokka, Guddi from Star Jalsa and Mukut, Icche Putul, Khelna Bari from Zee Bangla have witnessed abrupt endings. Many of these are run by noted producers — Leena Gangopadhyay and Saibal Banerjee owned Magic Moments Motion Pictures, Blues Production by Snehashis Chakraborty, Arka Ganguly of Organic Studios production house. Significantly, Leena is creating for Star Plus, where her popular serial Jol Nupur to be made in Hindi. Chakraborty admitted that the number of successful shows has gone down drastically and hence many are now targeting Hindi channels. His own serial Sarbajaya – helmed by celebrated Bengali actress Debashree Roy was remade in Odiya.
Amid I.N.D.I.A Bloc meetings that resulted in disgruntlement among the lower ranks of CPM, party’s general secretary Sitaram Yechury will be skipping the Foundation Day programme of the party in Bengal. The party’s politburo member and former general secretary Prakash Karat will be the main speaker at the event to be held on October 17 at party’s district office Pramod Dasgupta Bhavan in Kolkata. The development comes after the anti-BJP alliance at the all-India level began to unravel in June last year. Yechury’s photo with Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee in all the I.N.D.I.A meetings sparked outrage among the Bengal CPM grassroot cadres. Incidentally, the state CPM also had to take special programmes to mitigate that anger. Coincidentally, Yechury has not come to the state for any program since the controversy erupted. However, he is in charge of the party in Bengal on behalf of the Politburo. He also skipped two state committee meetings that were held between June and October this year, a central rally by farmers’ and farm workers’ organizations held in Kolkata on 31 August. Now the question is, is Bengal CPM not ‘consciously’ bringing Yechury to the state? Or is Yechury waiting for the situation to calm down? It is learnt that he is likely to attend the state CPM’s extended committee programme in Howrah between November 3-5.
The CBI raid at the Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Firhad Hakim’s house over his alleged involvement in the municipal recruitment scam, has once again raised questions about the overdrive of the Central agencies against the non-BJP ruled states’ politicians. Hakim, a cabinet minister of the state urban and municipal affairs department, is the first Muslim to become Kolkata mayor since Independence. Popularly known as Bobby da, he is one of the closest associates of the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Hakim has been under scanner of the CBI-ED for his alleged involvement in 2016 Narada sting operation case and municipal recruitment scam. Surprisingly, there has been no statement issued by TMC condemning the raid. And this is attributed to Hakim’s differences with Didi’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee on several issues such as opposing Abhishek’s proposal of not giving tickets to old guards during the municipal polls in 2022. Even Hakim’s removal as the chairman of the Furfura Sharif Development Board post-Sagardighi bypoll defeat was done at the behest of Abhishek. Also, a recent rollback of a civic decision by Didi at the behest of her nephew indicates Hakim’s wings are being clipped. The question everybody within the party is asking, whether Didi will continue to handhold Hakim like she still does for jailed associate Anubrata Mondal or let her nephew have the way.
After being hounded by politicians and trolled on social media about his recent visit to Spain along with the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly said that his identity as an individual gets him invited by everybody. Speaking during the promotional event of former Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s soon-to-be-released biopic in Kolkata, Sourav made it clear about his political neutrality. He stated that since he was neither an MP nor a MLA or a Corporator he was at liberty to attend any political parties function; hence was not answerable to anyone. But, what gave grist to the rumour mills is his official trip to Spain with Didi and her team to attract investments in business and sports sectors. Dada announced that a steel plant would be set up in Salboni, West Midnapore, which would be an extension of an existing sponge iron factory manufacturing TMT bars in which he holds a stake. Dada who has been endorsing numerous brands has been recently roped in as the brand ambassador of BJP-led Tripura Government’s Tourism Department. It may be recalled that just before the assembly elections in West Bengal in 2021, Union home minister Amit Shah had visited Dada’s residence. As of now Dada is very clear that he does not want to align with any political party, at least openly. But, everybody knows of his proximity to the former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and CPI (M).
There is a sense of apprehension within top leadership of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) about the number of seats they may win in the 2024 general elections. This fear follows a setback for TMC in 2019 general elections even after winning the 2018 Panchayat elections hands down. TMC lost several seats in North Bengal; it won 22 Lok Sabha which was a decline from its 2014 record of 34 seats. Incidentally, in the 2023 Panchayat elections too, TMC recorded a landslide victory. The bone of contention it seems is that most of its candidates won unopposed in 2023 — a similar thing happened in 2018. But the public did not take it lightly, it was angry that TMC did not allow opposition candidates to file their nominations vis a vis contest the elections. Result, their anger manifested in terms of BJP winning a record number of 18 LS seats in 2019 from its previous record of two seats. In the words of a state leader of the ruling party, “No level of public representation should be opposed, as it indicates lack of transparency and this gives an extra edge to the Opposition, especially the BJP.” However, a section of TMC leaders like Alipurduar District Trinamool President Prakash Chik Baraik and Purulia District Trinamool President Soumen Belthoria feel that it’s Didi’s pro-people policy in North Bengal that the party gained grounds in Panchayat elections.
Following the Mumbai meeting of the I.N.D.I.A., Trinamool Congress has unofficially informed Congress High Command that it will have to decide its ‘friends’ in West Bengal. TMC sources said that the message to the Congress is quite clear that it must choose between the party with a possible 30 LS seats, and the Left with no seats. TMC sources added that it has been conveyed to Congress that if it decides to join hands with the Trinamool, two seats — Baharampur and Maldaha Dakshin would be left to them. At present these two seats are held by Congress with Bengal Congress Chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury winning from Baharampur and veteran leader Abhu Hasem Khan Chowdhury from Maldaha Dakshin. Moreover, TMC will not object if Congress wants to give one to the CPI(M). However, Pradesh Congress sources termed this as the arrogance of party supremo Mamata Banerjee. Incidentally, a senior leader of TMC stated that during the alliance meeting, Didi has made it categorical that specific terms should be followed in the states which do not have alliance. The seat sharing must be decided on the basis of last Lok Sabha seats won, the results of the last Vidhan Sabha polls, three, the results of the last Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls combined. Incidentally, there will be no hassle for 250 seats across the country, remaining seats will have to be decided among various I.N.D.I.A partners.
A tough road lies ahead of CPI(M) Politburo at its two-day meeting between September 16 and 17, where it will decide upon its representation at the I.N.D.I.A Coordination Committee. Out of a 14-member committee as decided by the Bloc, the 14th one remained vacant when the first meeting of the committee was held at NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar’s house in New Delhi on September 13 since CPI(M) is yet to give its representation. However, it is known that party’s general secretary Sitaram Yechury met Pawar the day after the meeting and discussed the alliance. According to party insiders, the central committee of the CPI(M) held a meeting after the I.N.D.I.A Bloc’s Benguluru meeting, but no name was proposed for the coordination committee representation. Instead, there’s a divide of views where a section of senior leaders feel that the party should refrain from being a part of the committee, another section feels that it should take time to decide upon a name. However, central committee member Shamik Lahiri informed that the name will be finalised in the Politburo meeting itself. Interestingly, some of the leaders from the Bengal unit said that it is difficult for the Politburo to finalize the name by bypassing the Central Committee. In that case, a new debate may be created within the party, at a time when cadres are questioning the party’s decision to be a part of Trinamool Congress ally.
West Bengal gets its identity day or “Bangla Divas” in a resolution passed by the West Bengal State Assembly. Mamata Banerjee government ratified the resolution to celebrate “Bangla Divas” on Poila Baisakh, the first day of the Bengali calendar. The Assembly also passed the resolution declaring Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s composition “Banglar Mati Banglar Jol,” as the state song. Amid protest from the Opposition BJP, the resolutions were passed by 167-62 votes. The BJP legislators voted against the treasury bench resolutions. Incidentally, the Central government earlier this year issued a notification to celebrate June 20 as Poshchim Banga divas. Subsequently, the day was celebrated at the Raj Bhavan by Governor CV Ananda Bose here which led to a strong opposition from Didi. However, according to the Chief Minister, celebrating June 20 as Paschim Banga Divas was a “distortion of history” since the day also marks the division of undivided Bengal. Meanwhile, Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP legislators protested against the resolution and marched to Raj Bhavan where they submitted a memorandum to the Governor. While Didi has made it categorical that it does not matter to her government whether the Governor ratifies the date or not since it is a resolution not a bill, Adhikari maintained that since President Draupadi Murmu wished people of Bengal on June 20, it makes the official date to celebrate Bengal’s resurgence.
At a time when the I.N.D.I.A front is slowly progressing towards its goal of an united Opposition, Bengal CPI(M) unit finds it extremely difficult to contain the cadres and their questions about the party’s stand. Recently, the Bengal unit undertook workshops across the districts to work towards anti-BJP campaigns in coming months. However, the district leadership faced a volley of questions mostly pertaining to party’s secretary Sitaram Yechury’s stage sharing with arch rival — Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee. Sources at CPI(M) said that the cadres have not only expressed their discontent over the association with TMC but raised several questions. A section of cadres have questioned whether the party will be allying with TMC in the 2024 Lok Sabha election on the basis of the formula that everyone should support the party in their pockets of influence. If not then what would be the campaign process? Some have even questioned if Congress High Command asks the Pradesh Congress to ally with the TMC, will Bengal CPI(M) continue to hold hands with Congress or go alone. It is becoming increasingly difficult to defend the ant-TMC stand within CPI(M). The most significant question of the cadres was whether the party would support the government formed by the I.N.D.I.A. which will have Didi as one of the key players.
In their third meeting in Mumbai, the main focus of the Opposition front I.N.D.I.A will be over seat sharing, based on the formula floated by Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee. Didi has stated that the party which is strongest will contest the state and the specific seats. According to Congress sources, in West Bengal the Congress High Command is counting on Didi to decide on the seat sharing of 42 Lok Sabha seats. Insiders have also mentioned that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have no objection to the proposal. Incidentally, in 2019 Lok Sabha Polls, Congress won only two seats in Bengal with Bengal Congress Chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury winning from Baharampur and veteran leader Abhu Hasem Khan Chowdhury from Maldaha Dakshin. Moreover, political analysts believe that the TMC supremo might think of restricting Congress in those two seats, but Congress insiders say that the High Command may seek for six more seats. Interestingly, Chowdhury seems to have softened his stand on TMC. He further stated that Congress will be maintaining its relationship with TMC and CPI(M) at the national and state levels respectively. Meanwhile, the third meeting of the Grand Alliance will be held in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1, besides seat sharing, discussions will also focus on EVMs. Two more alliance meetings are scheduled before Diwali.
At the debate in the Parliament over no-confidence motion, the Leader of the Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury faced some uncomfortable moments when both the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah taunted him in their speeches. They called the West Bengal Pradesh Congress chief, a hapless leader “ignored by Congress high command” and also took a jibe saying he was not on the list of speakers as the Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee called Gandhis to keep him away from it. There was more when Modi-Shah claimed this Congress MP is under ‘CPM’s torture’. Interestingly, Modi referred to several Opposition leaders who spearheaded No Confidence Motion against ruling governments such as Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1998, 2003 by Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi), himself (2018 by Mallikarjun Kharge). However, Adhir Ranjan did speak on the third day ahead of PM, but was suspended for comparing Modi with Mahabharata’s blind king Dhritrashtra, fugitive businessman Nirav Modi and for his repeated misconduct. In Rajya Sabha, Kharge raised the issue over Adhir’s suspension and in Kolkata demonstrations were held. Sonia Gandhi also called for an emergency meeting to discuss Adhir’ suspension. Meanwhile senior TMC leadership remained tight-lipped on the development, despite party insiders saying that there was nothing wrong in Adhir’s statement. It may be noted that Adhir’s extreme opposition to Mamata made Didi ask her party leaders not to speak on the issue. Adhir will remain suspended till the privileges committee takes a decision.
Ahead of the third meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) in Mumbai later this month, CPI(M) State Committee had made it clear to the Central Committee that the party will not allow the formula in Bengal, refusing to join alongside Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee. Despite being one of the principal members of I.N.D.I.A, the State Committee stated that it will field candidates against the TMC in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, even at a time when both the parties view BJP as a ‘common enemy’. During the recent three-day central committee meeting, strong interventions from Bengal leaders against an alliance with the TMC citing atrocities unleashed by the ruling party workers against Marxist cadres. A central committee member from Bengal has also pointed out that the Bengal unit has put forth that party general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s recent stage sharing with Didi and exchanging pleasantries with her made bad optics and demoralised party cadres in Bengal. Party insiders claimed that Yechury acceded to the wishes of the Bengal leaders and said that Bengal unit will be free to field candidates against the TMC in all constituencies. Sources said, State Committee Secretary Mohammad Salim has categorically mentioned that the CPI(M) has made its stand clear and now it is the Congress that will decide on Bengal. However, the communist party is still open to continuing with its alliance with Congress.
With Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee carefully evading any mention of Congress during her party’s Shahid Diwas Rally last week, speculations are rife whether Congress high command will be replacing the present Pradesh Congress Chief and Baharampur MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Chowdhury has been extremely vocal about Didi and alleged atrocities by her party. He not only spearheaded the alliance with the CPI(M) during the last State Assembly Election 2021, but also maintained it even during this recently concluded Panchayat Election. Incidentally, Adhir had also written to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge requesting them to look into senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s representation of TMC in Supreme Court matters. It has been learnt that Congress leadership is not keen to upset Mamata, which might jeopardise its chances of bargaining for two existing Lok Sabha seats of Baharampur and Maldaha Dakshin. A section of the state committee said that outgoing Rajya Sabha Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharjee’s name is doing the rounds; he had the support of TMC during his nomination in 2017. Interestingly, Adhir joined the protest programme at Parliament — on Manipur Issue along with TMC and other parties. Adhir enjoys the confidence of Gandhis, hence it will be interesting to see whether they will replace him.
At the Trinamool Congress Martyr’s Day Rally, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said that the newly formed alliance of the 26 Opposition parties – I.N.D.I.A — will oust the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government in the 2024 General Elections. Didi said that the BJP which coined ‘Beti Bachao’ slogan will be shown the doors by “Durgas” — women of the country. Didi attacked the BJP on women’s issues — ongoing violence in Manipur, Bilkis Bano and wrestlers’ sexual harassment cases. Interestingly, Didi avoided mentioning Congress during her 42-minute speech at the annual event of her party. Besides, she was careful in her address of the Left parties; she addressed them as “CPI(M) er Bandhura” (CPIM friends), over their constant allegations of rampant violence and vote loot by her party in the recently concluded panchayat polls. Voicing the slogan “Jeetaga Bharat”, Didi told the party cadres that they would be informed about the protest programmes against the Centre to be taken out under the banner of the Opposition alliance. Interestingly, after Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar making it clear that they have no interest in the Prime Minister’s seat, Didi too did likewise, saying that she has no ambition for any chair but is just keen to dethrone BJP from the centre.
With the Rajya Sabha Election to take place on July 24 at seven seats from Bengal, speculations are rife that this time it will be an anti-Mamata Banerjee BJP leader to find a spot in the upper house. The State BJP is yet to announce the name of its sole candidate at a time when the ruling Trinamool Congress has already released the list of its six confirmed candidates. The party has renominated — Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and brought in three new faces — National spokesperson Saket Gokhale, Prakash Chik Baraik and Samirul Islam. In the case of BJP, names of former IPS-turned BJP leader Bharati Ghosh, Bengal observer Swapan Dasgupta, BJP State spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya, Anirban Ganguly and Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association head Anant Maharaj are doing the rounds. BJP sources claim that Ghosh’s chance is maximum since she was a prized catch by BJP during 2021 State Assembly election despite being one of closest IPS officers to Didi. This former IPS officer was given a special role during the G20 Summit. Besides her, Ganguly, who contested at Bolpur seat, but lost, is known to be close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah also stands a chance. It is learnt that BJP is thinking of nominating actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty in place of Roopa Ganguly whose term is complete.
Nearly after a decade, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is heavily campaigning for the upcoming three-tier Panchayat Poll. Didi last campaigned in 2008, and that too sparingly. This time around Didi addressed a rally at Kakdwip of South 24 Parganas on June 16 during the concluding day of Trinamoole Nabo Jowar programme. It could be well categorised as TMC chairperson kickstarting Panchayat Poll campaign. Mamata has already held rallies in districts of North Bengal, where TMC is struggling to gain a foothold. On July 3, she will be campaigning at Birbhum, one of the strongest TMC-held districts besides the North and South 24 Parganas. Didi is leaving nothing to chance to ensure a win in the maximum number of gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads. Interestingly, Mamata has once again been vocal about corruption within her party and made it clear to her voters not to fall prey to ‘cut money and syndicate raj’. Political observers believe that Didi is aware of the fact that this rural body poll is crucial to cementing TMC’s position as the strongest anti-BJP party. It is learnt that Didi is keen that TMC contest 40 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. But, the moot point is whether the Opposition Party will agree to her demand when they meet in Shimla some time in July.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee will be reaching Patna on June 22, a day before the Opposition meet on June 23. All eyes are on her since Mamata, who championed the need for the Opposition unity to take on BJP in 2024 polls had floated a formula that everyone should support the party in their pockets of influence, will be sitting with Congress leaders after a long time. It is important to note that several regional party leaders including JDU chief Nitish Kumar, RJD scion Tejaswi Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met Didi at her residence to discuss Opposition unity and strategy. Also TMC chief shed her aversion to sitting with Congress despite the fact that Pradesh Congress has been aggressively canvassing against her in the state. Recently, at a public rally in Kakdwip of South 24 Parganas, Didi made it categorical that she’s ready to ally with Congress at the Centre, but not in the state as it has allied with the CPM. According to the political analysts, Didi is happy about the fact that her formula of support for the regional party at its bastion has been accepted and she’s ready to support Congress at its 200-odd Lok Sabha seats.
The run-up to the Panchayat election in West Bengal to be held on July 8 is witnessing violence right from the first day (June 9) of filing nomination papers. Incidentally, the Opposition parties moved the Calcutta High Court after new State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha announced that the filing of nominations will be from June 9 to June 15 and June 20 will be the last date of withdrawal. Incidents of sporadic violence have been reported from South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, Birbhum, East Midnapore, East Burdwan, Cooch Behar where BJP, CPM and Congress have accused the ruling TMC of preventing their candidates from filing nominations. According to TMC senior leadership, it is still facing the repercussions of Panchayat polls 2018, where TMC won more than 95% of gram panchayats, of which 34% of the seats were uncontested, a record in the history of Bengal Panchayat polls. Further, TMC is grappling with rampant infighting in its own bastion of South Bengal which turned violent. Incidentally, the appeal by the party’s general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to keep Panchayat poll violence-free seems to have fallen on deaf ears. What needs to be seen is whether Didi and the Election Commission will comply with the Calcutta High Court’s ruling and deploy central force at the super sensitive booths across the state during the panchayat poll.
With the recent electoral defeat in Karnataka, central BJP leadership has made it categorical to the Bengal unit to reduce its dependency on Delhi. Bengal BJP insiders say that the Central leadership has given a clear directive that the state unit cannot seek high command’s opinion on all the issues pertaining to the state. Most importantly, central leadership has stated not to focus completely on PM Narendra Modi, but to give equal importance to the party’s local leaders in regard to the campaign for the upcoming Panchayat poll and next year’s Lok Sabha elections. According to the report of the Central Observers over-reliance on Modi-Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J P Nadda in the election campaign is not making the organisation self-sustaining. Moreover, a large part of the state leadership thinks that Modi magic will work during last minute-campaigning. This over dependence on Modi is the cause of local leaders not being proactive and in the process becoming irrelevant. According to BJP sources, Amit Shah and JP Nadda will visit Bengal and other states regularly to directly investigate the ‘Lok Sabha Pravas Programme’. But the main work has to be done by the state leadership. One of the vice-presidents of the state BJP and MP Jagannath Sarkar said that local leaders are now being given importance since some decisions that are imposed from above, lead to mistakes.
Trinamool Congress is faced with one too many negative news — reports of rampant corruption, increasing infighting within the party and CBI summoning Abhishek Banerjee. Soon after the Calcutta High Court dismissed TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s plea to stay CBI/ED interrogation in connection with teachers’ recruitment scam, CBI summoned him to appear before them at Kolkata office. As a result, Abhishek had to hit the pause button on his 60-day state-wide yatra, Trinamoole Nabo Jowar and return to Kolkata. An angry Didi said BJP was jittery seeing Abhishek’s outreach programme was successful. She warned stating that if Abhishek is stopped from undertaking this programme then she herself will take the yatra forward. Abhishek too challenged CBI to make two stages and publicly question him in a janata durbar and if proven guilty send to gallows and set an example. However, political analysts have two views on this development. One, Didi will now turn the heat on the BJP stating that the CBI probe on Abhishek is a vindictive act to stop them from showcasing the true colours of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Second, the BJP will go all guns out stating the rural masses who are very angry over the suspension of work on many central-funded schemes due to non-disbursal of funds from the Union Government that Abhishek’s yatra is a hogwash to hide first-hand the loot of central funds meant for these projects by Trinamool leaders and functionaries.
Two days after Congress won Karnataka Election, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee has actually given an overt signal of having the Congress in the Opposition fold to take on the BJP in 2024 General Election. Didi reiterated her stand that states with strong regional presence must take the lead and at 200-odd seats across the country where Congress has a strong presence they must be supported by other parties. However, her softened stance also came with the rider that “Congress must sacrifice at some places also” – clearly hinting the Congress High Command to ask Bengal Congress to go soft on TMC in the state. Incidentally, TMC and Congress are at loggerheads, despite Mamata being known to have good relations with Sonia Gandhi. According to party insiders, Didi’s earlier reluctance of supporting Congress stemmed from the alliance between the Congress and CPM from time to time in Bengal and also from Congress’ back-to-back poll setbacks. Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury pointed out Didi never attributed Karnataka’s victory to Rahul Gandhi or during Bharat Jodo Yatra even though Didi’s ascent to power in 2011 was with the help of Sonia Gandhi when the party went into an alliance to oust Left Front. Political observers also pointed out, understanding between Didi and State Congress will remain distant as TMC will never sacrifice a single of 42 Lok Sabha seats for the Congress or for any other parties.
Trinamool Congress’ new outreach programme Trinamool Nabo Jowar has put into question the unity of party leaders. Opening the pandora’s box of factionalism, the programme undertaken by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and second in command Abhishek Banerjee has failed to contain factionalism in the secret ballot to select candidates for the upcoming three-tier rural polls. So there is chaos in district after district — torn ballot papers, broken ballot boxes, printed votes, tampering of voter lists, vandalism, fights among party members. The campaign began on April 25 and entered into the 18th day across eight districts — from Cooch Behar to Birbhum. Opposition parties are attacking the ruling party stating that it can no longer imagine that a non-violent, orderly vote is possible. The widespread violence of the Panchayat elections 2018 in Bengal is still in the minds of people. Questions are being raised over the deployment of police for the ruling party’s activities. Most importantly, voices of dissent could be heard among the common people where they claimed that factions directed them to cast votes in favour of the candidate that a local leader supported. Political observers pointed out that the exercise is turning out to gauge the dissent among the people for the party ahead of the polls since free expression of public opinion and democracy could be sought any time of the year.
Bengal filmmakers feel West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to ban “The Kerala Story” will not serve the purpose of restricting controversial narratives. A day after Didi declared Sudipto Sen’s movie “distorted”, eminent filmmakers close to Didi said that the decision has jeopardised her pro-culture and art image. National Award-winning filmmaker Gautam Ghose said that during the previous Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA, the erstwhile censor board comprising stalwarts like Shyam Bengal, Kamal Haasan suggested keeping an option where the state authorities could take legal action against the makers of any film hurting religious sentiments leading to law and order problems. Unfortunately, the suggestions never saw the light of the day, lamented Ghosh. Another filmmaker Aniket Chattopadhyay observed that the decision of banning a movie in the digital era is basically futile since a government cannot hold back the release as it has been cleared by the censor board. So what is the way out – “Make a counter-narrative”, suggested Chattopadhyay. Leftist filmmaker Suman Mukhopadhyay compared banning a film to burning books. According to him, there have been occasions of differences with the erstwhile Left Front government over his movie like “Herbert” but there are no instances of banning movies in the state.
The much hyped new campaign of the ruling Trinamool Congress Trinamoole Nabo Jowar had raised several eyebrows in terms of expenditure, party’s slipping hold at panchayat level and increase in rebel leaders. In April, the party Supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her nephew and second in command of the party Abhishek Banerjee will start this new campaign where he would be undertaking Jana Sanjog Yatra comprising 250 public rallies. Abhishek’s 60-day outreach programme started on April 25 from Alipurduar and it will culminate in Kakdwip of South 24 Parganas on June 24. It is learnt that over 292 luxurious tents costing Rs 25,000 per tent/night were set up in Alipurduar-Coochbehar for party functionaries. Besides this a luxury caravan has been brought in for Abhishek’s stay. Significantly, the exercise of secret ballot to determine the preferred candidate for the upcoming panchayat elections was marred by clashes between two factions of party that broke out in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar. Not only this, the party’s sitting MLA from Islampur in Uttar Dinajpur district, Abdul Karim Choudhury threatened that he will send the names of probable candidates for the upcoming rural polls. Meanwhile, several senior party leaders view that Didi has put Abhishek on an acid test to translate this new campaign into a success by ensuring a win in the upcoming three-tier rural polls and also prove his acceptability.
The Bengal film industry which saw the likes of Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, Tarun Majumder and others, today struggles to hold on to its glory. There is a marked shift from big screen content to OTT platforms — Hoichoi, Zee5, Klick, Addatimes. Moreover, several renowned actors are also seen in Bollywood movies and regional movies of South. All top stars and directors like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury feel that the Bengali film industry requires the much-needed investment and passionate people to surge ahead. Films Manobjamin, Projapoti, Kaberi Antardhan, Maayakumari, Dilkhush, Ghore Pherar Gaan, Mitthye Premer Gaan and others released in the first quarter of 2023. While Projapoti could turn box office collections into gold, others failed as they were replaced by Pathaan at the theatres. Interestingly, actors like Jisshu Sengupta, Anirban Bhattachajee, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Saswata Chatterjee, Churni Ganguly, Swastika Mukherjee, Parambrata and recently veteran actor Prosenjit are taking up projects from Bollywood and those from the South. Mardaani, Manikarnika, Sadak 2 famed actor Jisshu pointed out that the emergence of OTT platforms have blurred the lines between regional industries. For Parambrata, directing Bengali movies is passion and acting in Bollywood contents such as Bulbull, Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi, Aranyak, Mithya gave him national exposure.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejaswi Prasad at the State Secretariat, make it evident that Didi has not put her national ambitions on the back burner. Her single point agenda is to dislodge BJP from the Centre. Will it be possible given the fact, her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) lost national party status? In fact, many from her party feel that Didi should continue to work towards holding its own citadel in the state. A senior TMC leader on condition of anonymity questioned the party’s decision to contest Tripura Assembly Election in 2023 and Goa Assembly election in 2022. He questioned the futile exercise of spending crores of rupees in these two states without any political gain and instead it has led to the loss of National party status. Sources say Didi was not keen on contesting elections in Goa and Tripura but it was party’s general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee’s idea. Also, some TMC leaders feel the party’s image has taken a hit with the induction of former Union minister Yashwant Sinha and former BJP member Shatrughan Sinha. Though the actor won the Asansol Lok Sabha seat, he is still considered as an outsider by the district leadership. Yashwant Sinha quit the party in 2022. The general consensus is that Didi should focus on the party’s image as some of its leaders have been jailed.
Is Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee planning to hand over the reins to her nephew Abhishek Banerjee? All indications point in that directions. Witness this, Abhishek, the party’s second-in-command and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has unveiled a new campaign “Trinamooler Nabojowar” (Uprise of New Trinamool). Spanning over two months, the campaign has two parts — first a Jono Sanjog Yatra (mass outreach march) where he will be addressing over 250 public meetings, and the second being Gram Banglar Motamot (opinion of rural Bengal). Interestingly, Abhishek will hold meetings with 3,000 party functionaries of the district, panchayat and booth levels and also with the people of local influence in the view of selecting 73000 candidates for the three-tier panchayat election through a secret ballot. Political analysts say that with Didi announcing the outreach drive it clearly hints at projecting her nephew as a mass leader ahead of the panchayat and the national polls next year. Moreover, analysts are also equating the new programme with that of Didi ke Bolo (Tell to Didi) campaign, designed by erstwhile political consultant Prasant Kishore, which resulted in thumping mandate during State Assembly election 2021. The march begins from North Bengal where TMC is still struggling for a strong foothold.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting West Bengal on April 14. Shah’s visit is timed when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed the state BJP for orchestrating violence during Ram Navami in the districts of Howrah and Hooghly. Shah, who will be on a two-day tour to Bengal, will hold a rally on April 14 at Trinamool Congress (TMC) bastion — Suri in Birbhum. Incidentally, TMC strongman of Birbhum and Mamata’s close aide, Anubrata Mondal was arrested almost a year back in cattle smuggling case making the district an open ground for the BJP. Besides, this visit is also going to be a part of the saffron camp’s focus on 24 Lok Sabha constituencies out of 42 in which the BJP could not win in the 2019 General Elections. It may be recalled that Birbhum has two out of 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, Bolpur and Birbhum and in the last parliamentary election the ruling TMC had defeated the BJP by a high margin. Sources said Shah has already received reports that the state unit has failed to direct the district units to consolidate the party’s position in places of South Bengal where TMC is facing anti-incumbency. Apart from Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda will also visit 12 such constituencies to boost the morale of the party workers.
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