While the Bharatiya Janata Party is optimistic about the resignation of Trinamool Congress leader Suvendu Adhikari from the Mamata Banerjee government on Friday, the situation on the ground shows that the TMC lost nine seats in Lok Sabha out of the 13 in the region where he is known as a mass leader. and is believed to have significant influence among the people of Purulia, Jhargram, Murshidabad, Malda, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Bankura, and Bishnupur.
There is one Lok Sabha and nine assembly seats in Purulia, while in Murshidabad there are three Lok Sabha and 19 assembly seats. In Malda, there are two Lok Sabha and 12 assembly seats and in East Midnapore there are two Lok Sabha and 15 assembly seats.
In Bankura and Bishnupur (combined) there are two Lok Sabha and 12 assembly seats, while in West Midnapore, there are two Lok Sabha and 15 assembly seats. In Jhargram, there is a Lok Sabha and four assembly seats. In total, there are 13 Lok Sabha seats and 86 assembly seats in Purulia, Murshidabad, Malda, West Midnapore, Jhargram, East Midnapore, Bankura and Bishnupur, where Suvendu Adhikari is believed to be an excellent foreman in booth management.
However, following the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, except for four seats, which are Kanthi (won by Suvendu’s father, Sishir Adhikari on a TMC ticket, but BJP won a 33.54 percent vote share while Sishir lost. a 3.82 percent vote share), Tamluk (won by Suvendu’s brother Dibyendu on a TMC ticket, but BJP gained a 30.54 percent vote share while Dibyendu lost a 3.52 percent vote share) , Jangipur (won by TMC’s Khalilur Rahman who defeated BJP’s Mafuja Khatun) and TMC’s Murshidabad Abu Taher Khan); the rest was lost by the ruling TMC.
The BJP alone managed to win seven of the 13 seats (two seats, including Berhampur and Malda South, went to Congress) and made deep inroads into these districts that are supposedly the stronghold of Suvendu Adhikari.
A closer look at the individual seats revealed that in Purulia, BJP’s Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato not only won the seat but also defeated TMC’s Mriganka Mahato by 2.04,732 votes. There was a 42.15 percent increase in vote share for the BJP in Purulia, while TMC lost its vote share by 4.68 percent.
Also at Bankura, BJP’s Subhash Sarkar (with a 28.92 percent increase in vote participation) defeated TMC’s Subrata Mukherjee by 1.74,333 votes. In Bishnupur, BJP’s Saumitra Khan (with a 32.14 percent increase in vote share) defeated TMC’s Shyamal Santra by 78,047 votes.
In West Midnapore, except for Ghatal (which was won by TMC leader and actor Deepak Adhikari, popularly known as Dev, against BJP’s Bharati Ghosh by 1,07,973 votes), BJP’s Dilip Ghosh managed to secure the Midnapore seat (in West Midnapore).
Although Dev won the seat, his vote share fell by 2.48 percent (despite the Keshpur factor where the majority of Muslims voted for the actor), while Bharati Ghosh’s vote share increased to 30.04 percent. . In Midnapore, BJP State President Dilip Ghosh defeated TMC’s Manas Ranjan Bhunia by 88,952 votes. Like Ghatal, here too there was a 34.36 percent increase in the BJP’s vote share.
And finally, in the Jhargram Lok Sabha seat, BJP’s Kunar Hembram defeated TMC’s Birbaha Soren by 11,767 votes and, as in Midnapore, here too the saffron party’s vote share increased by 34.83 percent. So, of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the region, the TMC won only four seats (two went to Congress), and except for Jangipur and Murshidabad, in all seats its share of the votes fell significantly, while that of the BJP increased. to almost 29-30 percent.
“Yes, it is a fact that the BJP only did extremely well in these seats (Purulia, Jhargram, Murshidabad, Malda, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Bankura and Bishnupur) in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Most of the seats they were won by us due to the hard work of our dedicated party workers. Most importantly, in those seats in which we have lost, the BJP has managed to significantly increase its percentage of votes, ”said BJP State Vice President Pratap Banerjee.
On why there is so much fuss about Suvendu Adhikari, he said: “There is no fuss. The only thing we have maintained over the last few years is that those who want to leave the TMC can join the BJP. This is nothing new. This happens in politics. Rather than joining the BJP, the question is why do people leave the TMC. This means that the party leaders are not happy with the operation of the TMC. We want to form the government in West Bengal. That is why we have kept our doors open for everyone. Let people realize that the BJP can only bring change in Bengal. “
This poll arithmetic did not go unnoticed by political experts who said the commotion over Suvendu in the BJP camp should be seen as a poll stunt ahead of the 2021 assembly elections in the state.
Speaking to News18, political expert Kapil Thakur said: “It is a fact that in all the areas that are said to be Suvendu’s stronghold, the TMC did not score well in the latest Lok Sabha polls. He has lost most of the seats and now Suvendu through rallies (without the flag and the Trinamool banner) is trying to create an exaggeration that he is a great leader. There is only one leader in the TMC and her name is Mamata Banerjee. People vote TMC for Mamata Banerjee. He is trying to brand himself to continue his political career and negotiate effectively with the BJP, if he joins the saffron party at all. I think he started to believe that he is the natural successor to Mamata Banerjee and suffered a setback when Abhishek Banerjee was given more responsibility in the match. It is too early to say what his future action will be, but it will be interesting to see his performance in all these seats, supposedly his strongholds, in the next state elections.
For the past few months, Suvendu Adhikari has been seen addressing rallies without wearing the TMC symbol and flag. At all the rallies, a sea of people chanting “Aamra Dadar Anugami” (we are followers of the older brother), was seen marching behind Suvendu.
On Friday, hours before the Cooch Behar South TMC MLA, Mihir Goswami joined the BJP, Adhikari raised the political temperature by resigning from Mamata’s cabinet. He resigned as Minister of Transportation and Irrigation, but remains a Trinamool MLA as he has not resigned from the state assembly. The pass is being seen as the beginning of his departure from the party.
Suvendu was a key man behind Mamata Banerjee’s movement in Nandigram in East Midnapore in 2007, which helped her end the 34-year-old government of the Left Front in Bengal. Over the years, Mamata also paid him and his family members due respect for their dedication to the party.
Since then, Suvendu has been known as one of the most powerful leaders of the party, but insiders say that he was not happy with the “attitude” of some TMC leaders, but despite that, he decided to work hard for the party alone. in “Mamata’s instructions” and no one else. For the past few years, Suvendu had been absent from key party events and rallies. On April 21, 2017, he did not attend TMC’s organizational meeting at Netaji Indoor Stadium, allegedly citing health concerns.
In March 2020, he was once again found absent from a party event at the same location. Amid media reports on Suvendu’s situation in Trinamool, it once again put the party in an awkward situation after failing a government program in Jhargram on August 9, 2020, to mark International Populations Day. Indigenous people of the World. He was supposed to address an official meeting together with the state education minister and Trinamool secretary general Partha Chatterjee, but instead attended another private event at the nearby Sido Kanhu Hall on Sialgeria Maidan in the same district.
Suvendu’s absence from crucial party meetings has created unrest in the party, as many felt such a gesture could work against him before the state assembly elections in 2021. Recently, the state president of the BJP, Dilip Ghosh, had said that Suvendu is a great leader and everyone is welcome at the party. However, it is too early to speculate on the repercussions, as TMC in recent months has managed to make up lost ground in many booths in Bengal through other young leaders such as Mahua Moitra, Colonel Diptanshu Chaudhary (retd), Rajib Banerjee , Jitendra Tiwari (Mayor of Asansol). , Partha Pratim Roy, and the 2021 polls are shaping up to be an exciting competition.
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