Lok Sabha 2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized that violence stands as the foremost challenge in West Bengal during elections, urging BJP workers to diligently visit every household to inspire fearless voting. In a virtual engagement with the party’s workers in the state, PM Modi reiterated, “The primary hurdle in West Bengal elections is violence. We must ensure outreach to every voter, motivating them to cast their votes without fear.“
The Prime Minister expressed confidence in the BJP’s ability to enhance its seat count in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state. Following the remarkable leap from 2 seats in 2014 to 18 in 2019, the BJP intensified its campaign in the 2021 assembly elections, aiming to challenge Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool government.
While unable to dislodge Mamata, the BJP successfully supplanted the Left and Congress as the primary opposition party, significantly elevating its assembly seat count from 3 to 77. Conversely, the Congress and Left parties, in alliance, failed to secure any seats in the assembly.
The significant rise in the BJP’s vote share in both Lok Sabha and assembly elections, from 16.84% in 2014 to 40.25% in 2019 and from 10.16% in 2016 to nearly 38% in 2021 respectively, elucidates Prime Minister Modi’s confidence in the party’s prospects in the upcoming elections in the state.
Underlining this confidence, the party has devised an extensive campaign strategy, spearheaded by the Prime Minister himself. Ahead of the poll schedule announcement by the Election Commission, Prime Minister Modi had already conducted four rallies across various districts of West Bengal and is scheduled to address another rally in Cooch Behar on April 4th.
This will mark his first rally in the state post the Election Commission’s announcement. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee, the chief of Trinamool Congress, recognizing the BJP’s significant advances in the state, is intensifying efforts to reclaim lost political ground.
Trinamool faced intense criticism from the BJP following the violence in Sandeshkhali, which garnered national attention. As a result, the party suspended its leader Shahjahan Sheikh, who was arrested on February 29 after evading authorities for 55 days following protests led by women, alleging sexual misconduct and land grabbing.
In a strategic move, the BJP nominated Rekha Patra, a housewife from the troubled region of Sandeshkhali and an alleged victim of torture, as its candidate from Basirhat, a stronghold of the Trinamool Congress in the southernmost fringes of North 24 Parganas district. Prime Minister Modi personally reached out to her, commending her resilience by calling her a “Shakti Swarupa” and inquiring about her campaign preparations.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool, unable to form an alliance with the Congress due to disagreements over seat-sharing, is contesting all 42 seats in the state. The electoral landscape is further complicated by the presence of the opposition’s INDIA bloc, comprising the Congress and the Left. The outcome of this triangular contest between the BJP, Trinamool, and the INDIA bloc remains uncertain.