BJP's 'Mission Bengal': Targeting 160+ seats in upcoming elections
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched its "Mission Bengal" campaign, aiming to win over 160 seats in the upcoming state elections. The party's strategy is to target Trinamool Congress workers who are not loyal to Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee's nephew and three-time Lok Sabha MP, NDTV reported. This approach aims to cut the TMC's ground-level support without completely ignoring Mamata Banerjee herself.
Strategic shift
BJP's strategy: Focus on workers, not defectors
Unlike the 2021 state election, where the BJP relied on key TMC defectors like Suvendu Adhikari, this time it is focusing on party workers. This strategic shift aims to increase the party's vote share without compromising the positions of existing political leaders. The BJP believes that adding more cadre will help them campaign harder and more efficiently in Bengal.
Caste politics
BJP's approach to caste and religious dynamics in Bengal
In Bihar, the BJP got the caste arithmetic right by fielding candidates from the marginalized communities. However, Bengal requires a different formula as caste politics isn't dominant. The party plans to balance regional and religious equations instead. With around 30% of Bengal's population being Muslim, the BJP hopes to polarize Hindu voters in other regions against TMC's Muslim-dominated areas.
Outsider narrative
BJP's 'outsider' narrative and electoral performance in Bengal
The BJP has also been pushing an "outsider" narrative against Mamata Banerjee over issues like illegal migration from Bangladesh. The TMC, on the other hand, accuses the BJP of being "anti-Bengal." In recent elections, the BJP has won over 100 seats across four elections in Bengal. Their best performance was in the 2019 Lok Sabha election when they won 18 seats with a vote share of 40.25%.