Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee (71), the founder of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which lost power after 15 years, is not contesting the by-election. As a future strategy, she is trying to form a new political alliance with the Left parties and the Congress.
The legislative assembly by-elections for the two key constituencies of Nandigram and Rajnagar in West Bengal are scheduled to be held on October 6.
Of these, Nandigram is one of the two constituencies won by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Here, Mamata lost to BJP's Suvendu by a margin of about 2,000 votes.
Humayun Kabir, who left Mamata's party, had won in two constituencies on behalf of the Aam Janata Union. One of them, Rejinagar, has also gone to a by-election after he resigned from there.
Muslims are present in significant numbers in both. Because of this, Chief Minister Suvendu has said, “Will Muslims want to stay with the BJP government and reap its benefits? Or not? This election will decide that.”
In this situation, Mamata, who ruled for 15 years with overwhelming Muslim support, is not contesting in either of the two constituencies. Her decision to stay away from the contest has surprised everyone.
Despite repeated insistence, his decision to withdraw from the election contest has sparked fresh debates in the state’s political circles.
The 71-year-old Mamata, disheartened by her defeat, now wants to focus her attention on rebuilding the party and coordinating the opposition parties’ “India” alliance.
Alliance attempt with the Congress and Communists:
Mamata has come forward to form an alliance with the Congress, which split away in 1998, and with the Communists, her bitter rivals. This is because, at present, allegations of fraud, financial irregularities, bribery, extortion, and kidnapping are surrounding the Trinamool party.
At the same time, there is intense competition among various factions of the Trinamool to seize power in the party. For such reasons, CMC founder Mamata prefers to stay away from the by-election.
She is seen largely as helplessly watching her nephew Abhishek Banerjee take control of the party. Those who have left the party have spoken about this openly, and even those who continue to remain in the party have discussed it.
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party and M.K. Stalin’s DMK, among other parties, have now withdrawn from the INDIA alliance. However, Mamata believes that through her personal friendships, she may be able to bring them back together for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Many who oppose the Congress-led alliance see Banerjee as an alternative leader. Mamata’s enthusiasm for strengthening the INDIA alliance is seen as her strategy to project herself as the national leader of the opposition parties. The by-election in West Bengal will serve as an important test of the strength of Mamata’s camp and of whether it can revive the party or achieve national ambitions.
To ensure Mamata Banerjee’s victory, Kabir urged her to contest from the Reginagar constituency. Kabir had won this constituency, where about 70 percent of the population is Muslim.
If Mamata Banerjee contests in Nandigram, the faction led by TMC’s Ritabrata assured that they would not field their own candidate there. However, Mamata is not willing to budge on any of this.