The results of West Bengal assembly elections have ensured the return of Mamata Banerjee led TMC to power, with BJP unable to dislodge her from power as many had predicted. While the BJP failed to win the elections, it has made a significant improvement in the state, as while it had won only 3 seats in 2016, it is set win around 80 seats this time. But the biggest news from the state is, the complete rout of Congress from West Bengal, a state that the party had ruled the state for several terms after independence before the left front had come to power.
The Congress party had won 44 seats in the 2016 assembly election in Bengal, coming second after TMC. However, this time the grand old party is drawing a blank in the state as per the results and trends announced till now. While the party frequently allies with TMC at the national level against BJP, it had decided to contest against TMC in Bengal, in alliance with left and Islamist parties.
But the results have shown that the entire alliance has been completely rejected by the voter in Bengal, as none of the allies including Congress, left parties, AIMIM and ISF won any seats. But despite winning zero seats, it didn’t prevent the Congress party from celebrating, as they chose to celebrate the defeat of BJP and win of TMC.
While the party was celebrating the win of TMC, it forgot to realise that it itself suffered the loss most due to TMC only. As from the 44 seats Congress had won in 2016, they have lost the most seats to Trinamool.
Out of the 44 seats that Congress had won in 2016, TMC has won or is leading in 27 seats, while BJP has won or is leading in 16 seats. One seat has been snatched by AJSU, which has won only one seat in the elections.
However, final results for most of the seats have not been declared, and close contest is seen in 5-6 seats among the 44 seats previously held by Congress. This means, the final numbers for TMC and BJP may change by few seats, but the fact remains that TMC has grabbed most of the seats from Congress.
TMC had won 211 seats in 2016, and this time it is leading in 212. As it has gained 27 seats from Congress, that means that it has lost almost the same number of seats to BJP.
Similarly, CPM had won 26 seats in 2016, but failed to win single seat this time. TMC and BJP has won the seats which were won by the left party last time. Other left parties like RSP, CPI, Forward Block, SUCI etc had also scored zero against single digit wins last time.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee was seen ditching her wheelchair for the first time after her injury to walk towards her party office adjacent to her home.
Mamata Banerjee walking to her party office
Mamata Banerjee after winning West Bengal with a landslide reached the party office to thank her supporters and appeal to them to not carry any victory rallies amidst the COVID-19 surge. Urging people to go back home, she informed that she will be addressing the media at 6 pm.
I would like to thank everyone. I request all to not take out victory processions. I urge everyone to go back to their homes now. I will address the media after 6pm: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee pic.twitter.com/N8NfdFfGhK
Mamata Banerjee had injured her ankle in the early days of the run-up to the West Bengal assembly elections. She had alleged that she was injured after being pushed by 4-5 people at Nandigram, however, retracted her allegation later.
In a video message released by her, she said that she was sitting on the bonnet of her car, greeting the people with folded hands. ‘When I was doing namaskar towards the crowd from the top of the bonnet, suddenly I felt a huge pressure/push, and my legs were crushed by the car’, the chief minister said. The eyewitness however claimed that she was hit by a pillar on the road when she was waving at the people from her car keeping the door open and a leg hanging outside.
She added that problems with her legs may remain, but she will manage using a wheelchair if needed. Since then Banerjee conducted all her political rallies and roadshows in a wheelchair.
However, after the clinching victory, she was seen without her wheelchair.
West Bengal Assembly Elections
As per Election Commission data, Mamata Banerjee’s AITC is leading on 211 seats, while BJP is leading on 79, others on 3 with the Left-Congress alliance failing to even open their account in the state. However, Mamata Banerjee has conceded defeat in the Nandigram seat to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari.
Suvendu Adhikari has defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram, according to media reports. Adhikari’s victory marks a taint in TMC’s otherwise sweeping victory in the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021.
BIG #BREAKING – BJP's Suvendu Adhikari beats Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram; wins by 1622 votes.@Sougata_Mukh with details.
Some media reports had earlier declared Mamata Banerjee victorious from the constituency. However, it now appears confirmed that Suvendu Adhikari has indeed won the battle of the titans. The margin of his victory as of yet remains unclear.
Mamata Banerjee is reported to have accepted her personal defeat as a sacrifice.
Don't worry about Nandigram, I struggled for Nandigram because I fought a movement. It's ok. Let the Nandigram people give whatever verdict they want, I accept that. I don't mind. We won more than 221 seats & BJP has lost the election: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee pic.twitter.com/jmp098PF2A
On Sunday (May 2), several ‘neutral journalists’ took to Twitter to express their inner happiness after the Trinamool Congress’ surpassed the BJP by over 130 seats (per trends).
Despite a tough fight put up by the BJP leadership and its cadre of dedicated workers, they could bag only 77 seats in the election. On the other hand, TMC surged ahead with a tally of 212 seats. Although BJP drastically improved its tally as compared to the 2016 Vidhan Sabha elections, it failed to seize power from the ruling Trinamool Congress. The cabal of so-called ‘neutral journalists’, who had been eyeing the opportunity for a long time, took to Twitter to mock the BJP and express glee over its defeat.
Screengrab of the West Bengal election results as of 5:00 pm on May 2
Journalist Rohini Singh had been shaming the Indian media for covering exit polls while the country supposedly struggled to ‘breathe’. She had expressed her disapproval of the news channels for being busy with electoral politics. But, as the election trends turned in favour of the Trinamool Congress on Sunday, the journalist was quick to forget about the ongoing Coronavirus crisis.
She then channelised her time and energy in mocking the BJP and lauding the efforts of Mamata Banerjee. In a tweet, she claimed, “When your chief strategist are Malviya and Vijayvargiya, when your big publicists are Noida anchors, when your CM face is Swapan, when your big weapon is a random Clubhouse chat, you are bound to fail. And fail miserably.”
In another tweet, the ace journalist inferred, “The Bengal verdict is not just a massive loss for Modi but for Noida channels who were busy campaigning for the party in West Bengal. Some were even giving rides to BJP leaders on motorcycles while others had handed over their mikes. Some anchors should resign now.”
While the country is struggling to breathe, 2BHK journalist tweeting continuously about election results bcz the party that refused to give her money is trailing. pic.twitter.com/NJJfn6tPbN
Sagarika Ghose, who identifies herself as a ‘journalist, took potshots at the BJP over its loss. Comparing Mamata Banerjee’s victory in West Bengal to adequate ‘oxygen supply’, she tweeted, “India’s democracy just got some much-needed oxygen.”
‘Neutral Journalist’ Shabbir Ahmed too expressed his happiness with the caption ‘Didi returns’. He had tweeted a graphic published by Times of India, wherein an ‘injured’ Mamata Banerjee was seen kicking a football. It was accompanied by her election slogan, ‘Khela hobe.’
‘Columnist’ Zainab Sikander Siddiqui referred to Trinamool Congress’ election strategist as a ‘genius’ for predicting that the BJP will not cross the 100-figure-mark in the State of West Bengal. After learning that the TMC has managed to hold onto its power, she tweeted, “BJP will not cross 100 in West Bengal. Prashant Kishor YOU GENIUS!!”
— Zainab Sikander Siddiqui (@zainabsikander) May 2, 2021
Hindustan Times journalist Rupsa Chakraborty took potshots at PM Modi after the BJP failed to ace the Vidhan Sabha polls in West Bengal. “You nailed it”, she wrote while sharing an insensitive cartoon by satirist Satish Acharya. The cartoon depicted Rabindranath Tagore emerging from Heaven and gifting a razor to PM Modi to shave off his beard.
Jobless Journalist turned Youtuber Abhisar Sharma wrote, “It’s great to know that BJP lost elections in West Bengal. Else, you would have transformed Bengal into ‘Shonar Bangla’ just like you transformed UP into Ram Rajya.”
अच्छा हुआ बीजेपी आप बंगाल हार गए @BJP4India . वरना बंगाल को भी वैसा ही “शोनार बांग्ला” बनाने का दबाव बन जाता जैसे आप उत्तर प्रदेश में “रामराज्य” लेकर आये हैं ।
Unlike other ‘neutral journalists’, who limited themselves to 1-2 tweets, NDTV founder Prannoy Roy chose to write a long paragraph on how the elections saved ‘federalism’ in India. He wrote, “These election results point towards a turning point in Indian history. The inexorable rise of FEDERALISM in India has begun. Once again it is the people who have sent the message ahead of everyone else.”
“First, for the last decade, voters have shown a much higher involvement and turnout for their own State election than for Central elections. And second, this State level involvement has been led by women – voter turnout of women has risen faster and has been higher than men’s turnout for State elections. Third, there is a clear people’s sentiment that a Federal India is the only way to ensure no centralised autocracy (by ANY “national” party) takes over our great country,” he continued.
Prannoy Roy also claimed that the election result was a reflection of India’s diversity and heterogeneity. “The strong message of the voters is: We are a wonderfully diverse and heterogenous country — AND across. India we are sisters and brothers forging ahead into the future together,” he concluded.
Alleged ‘journalist’ Swati Chaturvedi applauded Mamata Banerjee for not only defeating Suvendu Adhikari but fighting against the Modi-Shah duo. “I have huge admiration for @MamataOfficial because she took on Adhikari at his citadel of Nandigram. Tough fight but, the gritty move sent a huge inspirational message to the TMC cadre after Shah tried to break TMC. Real leaders fight,” she tweeted. Interestingly, Mamata has now been defeated by Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram.
I have huge admiration for @MamataOfficial because she took on Adhikari at his citadel of Nandigram. Tough fight but, the gritty move sent a huge inspirational message to the TMC cadre after Shah tried to break TMC. Real leaders fight
After the election results projected a comfortable TMC victory, Caravan Editor Vinod K Jose alleged, “There seems to be a kind of gloominess shrouding over many of the Hindi-English studios today.” To add to his point, health journalist Vidya Krishnan held the media responsible for Coronavirus deaths. “Not enough gloominess compared to what their lies have inflicted on Indians. They will all face what’s coming for them,” she said.
Not enough gloominess compared to what their lies have inflicted on Indians. They will all face what’s coming for them ✊?
While the ‘neutral journalists’ had been gloating over TMC victory, concerns are now being raised about the fate of thousands of BJP workers who now stand vulnerable to violence by TMC supporters and Islamists.
Mamata Banerjee is well on her way to registering a thumping victory for the Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal Elections 2021. The BJP, which was expecting to create history, has received a stunning setback with its vote-share decreasing from 2019.
The party might look for some consolation in something or the other but, truth be told, there isn’t any. There is no way to spin this, the results were disastrous for the BJP. Nevertheless, there are certain factors that went against the BJP in retrospect.
Hyperfocus on Matuas and Mahisyas did not pay off
The hyperfocus on the Matua and Mahisya community does not appear to have paid off. Matua dominated constituencies are being won by the Trinamool Congress as of this moment. The Mahisyas dominate South Bengal and that is where the BJP derived its core strength from in 2019.
But even there, the Trinamool Congress has managed to make massive inroads. Simultaneously, the hyperfocus on individual identities deflected from the BJP’s primary hopes on Hindu consolidation. The net effect was clearly negative for the BJP.
No local leader to match Mamata Banerjee
This is more obvious. The Bengal BJP does not have any leader to match the incumbent Chief Minister’s stature in Bengal politics. True, leaders such as Dilip Ghosh, Locket Chatterjee and some others are popular in the state. But they are clearly no match for Mamata Banerjee.
The biggest mass leader in the state is Suvendu Adhikari, and he is someone who joined the BJP very recently. On its own, it just did not have anyone to match Banerjee. With Prime Minister Modi not on the ballot in the Assembly Elections, the party paid the price.
It is also to be noted that there were likely some BJP voters in 2019 who preferred Narendra Modi as Prime Minister but Mamata Banerjee as Chief Minister. If such voters were even 3-4% of the electorate, that is enough to change the fortunes of the party completely.
Intra-party angst due to influx of TMC turncoats
The inclusion of numerous Trinamool leaders in the party created some angst among the workers of the party. The workers had terrible relationships with some of these leaders. Some of the TMC turncoats themselves had fomented violence against BJP workers.
Therefore, the inclusion of such leaders in the party is likely to have angered workers on the ground. It is unclear the extent to which it affected the party’s fate in Bengal.
Inclusion of TMC turncoats denting image
The inclusion of TMC turncoats into the party might have even dented the BJP’s image among voters. There were doubts raised by some that some of these leaders were corrupt and had a negative perception among the electorate.
At the time, it seemed that the inclusion of such leaders was sinking the TMC boat and awarded the momentum to the BJP. But in retrospect, it could have worked the other way as well.
Non-implementation of CAA
The CAA was passed late in 2019 and one and a half years later, the law has still not been implemented. The delay in implementation of the law has been attributed to the Coronavirus crisis and it has been promised that it will be implemented as soon as the crisis was dealt with.
But the electorate on the ground cannot be blamed for not caring about such details. Meanwhile, the Trinamool government in Bengal announced several schemes for the Matuas, the community most affected by the law.
Thus, while the community received concrete benefits from the TMC, all they received from the BJP were promises in the abstract that had not yet been implemented. The voting pattern in Matua dominated constituencies does indicate that the delay in CAA affected the results.
Ticket distribution
Certain people associated with the BJP had raised issues with the ticket distribution in the polls. It was said that many who had worked hard for the party had been sidelined while turncoats and celebrities had been awarded the ticket in key seats.
For instance, in Behala Purba, Sovan Chatterjee, who is a TMC turncoat himself, did not receive a ticket and it was instead awarded to celebrity Payal Sarkar. That had caused significant anguish among Chatterjee’s supporters. Sovan Chatterjee had quit the party as well.
All in all, everything that could go wrong for the BJP appears to have gone wrong. And everything that Mamata Banerjee needed to work in her favour did work.
BJP leader and NEDA convenor Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma has won the assembly election with a record margin of over 1 lakh votes. The senior minister in the outgoing BJP led govt won the polls by 1,01,911 votes from Jalukbari constituency, comprehensively defeating Romen Barthakur.
Dr. Sarma has now won the seat for the consecutive fifth time with this win, and his winning margin has been increasing with every election, defying any anti-incumbency that most politicians face. His winning margin in 2016 was around 85935, while the same was 77403 in 2011. He had won by 34480 votes in 2006 and by 35035 votes in 2001. While he won the current and the last elections from BJP, the previous elections were won from Congress ticket, as he had joined BJP in 2015.
Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigned in Jalukbari constituency for himself for only one day, on the last day of the campaigning for the third and last phase of the polls. He would have been unable to campaign on the last day also, as the Election Commission had imposed a 48 hour ban on him from campaigning when 2 days of election campaign were remaining. But the same was reduced to 24 hours after Dr Sarma tendered an unconditional apology for his comments on BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary that had led to the ban.
While he had not campaigned for himself, he campaigned most for the party during the elections. He had attended several election rallies, roadshows and padayatras at various constituencies across the state, campaigning for alliance candidates.
Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal has won by over 42,000 votes from Majuli, and Assam BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass has won from the Patacharkuchi constituency.
On the other hand, state Congress leader Ripun Bora had to face defeat from Gohpur constituency. He was defeated by BJP leader Utpal Borah.
While the counting for the elections is still going on, NDA is set to form the next government as it projected to win 76 seats in the 126-seat assembly. The Congress led alliance is leading in 45 seats. However, the question over the CM still remains, as BJP didn’t project current CM Sarbananda Sonowal as its CM candidate, and Himanta Biswa Sarma was seen as a strong contender for the post.
The trends that have come in so far in the counting process shows a decisive victory for TMC. According to EC trends at 4:20 PM, TMC was ahead in 208 seats and BJP was ahead in 79 seats. As soon as the news of victory came in, TMC started gheraoing BJP office in Kolkata. Now, news has come in the violence has erupted in Arambagh and a BJP office there has been burnt to ashes.
BREAKING: Violence breaks out in Bengal soon after the #WestBengalElections results were clear. BJP party office in Arambagh is set on fire. Allegation against TMC, TMC denies charge. pic.twitter.com/70LwYTUPuA
Anindya Banerjee, journalist with TV9 tweeted the visuals of a BJP office being burnt to the ground in Arambagh.
According to him, BJP suspects TMC goons behind the incident, however, TMC has denied any responsibility for the violence.
Reportedly, other than in Arambagh, violence has erupted also in Beliaghata area of Kolkata.
BREAKING: Violence breaks out in Beleghata, Kolkata. It's barely 7 km from the icons Park Street. Media isn't allowed anywhere near there. BJP cadres are targeted. #WestBengalElections2021
Anindya has reported that BJP cadres are being targeted in these areas.
TMC workers gherao BJP office in Kolkata
As per initial trends, TMC is ahead in the state of West Bengal in at least 200 seats. As trends showed a landslide victory for Mamata Banerjee led TMC, the workers of the party have now reportedly gheraoed the BJP office in Hastings, Kolkata. After the predicted decisive victory for TMC, there have been fears that BJP workers and those who supported and voted for the party might face backlash from the TMC and its workers.
The euphoria of TMC workers was also visible in Asansol. After the Election Commission asked the officials and police to ensure that no congregations are allowed post-election results, the Bengal police was seen instructing TMC party workers to stop their celebrations and maintain protocol amidst rising COVID-19 cases. Instead of paying heed to what Bengal police were asking them to comply with, the TMC workers were seen bursting a fire cracker right next to the police officer to intimidate the officer.
Amidst the ongoing shortage of medical oxygen in Delhi due to the surge in the Covid-19 cases, allegations have emerged that the refillers are facing harassment from the govt, and the general public, who were sourcing oxygen cylinders from such refillers, are now finding it difficult to get oxygen.
Advocate Amit Kumar Singh, the founder of NGO HUM – Dedicated for Sewa, posted a video message in which he described the situation after Delhi govt took over the oxygen refilers in the city. According to Kumar, the attendants of the Covid-19 patients who were arranging medical oxygen from the refillers are unable to arrange them now as the Government has closed down their operations. Only 13 refillers are allowed to provide medical oxygen, but the numbers released by the Government are non-responsive.
Many private vendors in Delhi were refilling oxygen cylinders at a nominal cost in Delhi. The Kejriwal govt yesterday closed all of them and released a list of just 13 refillers. People are running from pillar to post to get oxygen refill but nothing happening. pic.twitter.com/kuPTSabxZy
Amit Kumar Singh said that the Delhi govt has sealed an oxygen refiller at West Vinod Nagar in Delhi, and seized the cylinders from them. He also said that after that the govt released the numbers of 6 oxygen agencies, but none of them is picking the phone. Singh suggested that the Delhi govt should let the refilling agency function by deploying its officials there, and allow the private refilers to continue operating.
Refiller station owner claimed harassment by DM officials
Following the video of Amit Kumar Singh went viral on social media, OpIndia reached out to the refilling station mentioned by Singh to learn about the difficulties they are facing. On the condition of anonymity, the owner of the refilling agency told us that since the orders were passed by the Delhi Government to deploy teams at the medical oxygen refilling stations, their station has been shut down by the authorities. He informed that the government officials confiscated their cylinders and closed down the premises. He further added that his team members were also picked by the government officials to present them at DM’s office.
The owner broke down while talking to OpIndia and said, “They have closed my refilling station. People are calling me. Now tell me from where I can arrange oxygen for them? They picked my team members and harassed them. It was torture. They took away my cylinders too. I have no answer for anyone who is seeking help. ”
When we searched on social media, his refilling station’s address is still being widely shared on social media as a genuine source for medical oxygen.
Delhi Government ordered DMs to deploy teams at refilling centres
On April 28, Delhi Government had issued an order in which it directed District Magistrates to deploy teams to ensure medical oxygen shall be sold by the retailers and refillers strictly in accordance with the license conditions. The order was supposed to smoothen the supply of medical oxygen in the national capital, but it seems to have led to harassment of the refilling station owners.
On Sunday (May 2), Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers and rabid Islamists resorted to threatening, name-calling BJP supporters after initial trends showed a comfortable TMC victory in West Bengal.
The initial tweets by the vicious lot were focused on the dehumanisation of BJP supporters, coupled with vicious expletives and name-calling. While gloating about the possible TMC return to power, Zulfiqar Ali emphasised, “West Bengal vaccinated itself against Sanghi virus.” The insensitive tweet drew parallels between a virus and a BJP supporter, amidst the threat posed to humanity by the Wuhan Coronavirus.
Screengrab of the Twitter post
Another Twitter user order the ‘mother f*cker’ progeny of BJP supporters to show up at 6 pm in the night on social media, assuming that the election result will be known by then.
Screengrab of the Twitter post
Abusive tweets by Islamists, and TMC workers metamorphose into ‘death threats’
While abusive tweets denigrating political rivals are not a new phenomenon, Islamists and TMC supporters decided to take a step forward. They began threatening ‘Sanghis’ with violence, murder, and potential physical harm. Islamist Fahmi Riyaz said, “Would love to see Sanghis getting treatment after TMC wins. Need blood coming out of their head.”
Screengrab of the tweet
Another Twitter user (@Despacito524) shared a picture of a man with a knife, along with the caption “BJP workers after Mamata wins.” He insinuated that BJP workers will be mercilessly stabbed with knives once the incumbent Trinamool Congress returns back to power.
Screengrab of the Twitter post
On Instagram, an account called Despacito had also threatened to harm ‘filthy hindi outsider bastards’ following Mamata Banerjee’s victory. “Bohot charbi chari hai tum logo ki (You guys have become bold). Just wait and watch what we do you filthy Hindi outsider bastards after Mamata wins.”
Screengrab of the Instagram DM
Another Twitter user (@InZizek) threatened, “My dear tamils… this is a warning…if this what you have decided to vote for BJP… there will be consequences… you will be hunted down like hunger games. Trust me.” He further warned of a ‘Sanghi hunting season’ with no mercy and irrespective of blood relations. “There will be a sanghi hunting season…No mercy..No same blood…No brother or sister.”
Screengrab of the Twitter post
TMC workers gherao BJP office in Kolkata
As per initial trends, TMC is ahead in the state of West Bengal in at least 200 seats. As trends showed a landslide victory for Mamata Banerjee led TMC, the workers of the party have now reportedly gheraoed the BJP office in Hastings, Kolkata. After the predicted decisive victory for TMC, there have been fears that BJP workers and those who supported and voted for the party might face backlash from the TMC and its workers.
The euphoria of TMC workers was also visible in Asansol. After the Election Commission asked the officials and police to ensure that no congregations are allowed post-election results, the Bengal police was seen instructing TMC party workers to stop their celebrations and maintain protocol amidst rising COVID-19 cases. Instead of paying heed to what Bengal police were asking them to comply with, the TMC workers were seen bursting a fire cracker right next to the police officer to intimidate the officer.
As the nation awaits the state assembly elections results with piqued interest in West Bengal, TMC’s political and poll strategist Prashant Kishor has declared that he is quitting I-PAC, his political advocacy company and pursue another career.
In an interview to NDTV, Prashant Kishor announced his decision to hand it over to his colleagues. He said he wants to take some time out and look at an alternate career. He also said that he has not met his family in months.
This comes as a shocker as the trends seem to indicate Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress will emerge victorious in West Bengal. Kishor had also challenged that he would leave Twitter and his current career if BJP crossed the double digital mark. With none happening, it is surprising that Kishor has taken the decision to quit his political advocacy career even before the counting ends.
In March, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had declared Prashant Kishor to be his political advisor for the state assembly elections to be held next year.
Prashant Kishor (political strategist) has joined me as my Principal Advisor. Look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Punjab: Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh pic.twitter.com/CgdsX27T5d
