It
is an irony of history that BJP has all but disappeared from Bengal,
the birth place of its ideological founder. The quest for political
alternative in Bengal may however provide an opportunity for its
resurrection. As it turns out Bengal has encountered a comprehensive
decline, be it in governance, administration, law and order, industrial
growth, infrastructure, education or health care. Its story is now that
of the relocation of industrialists to greener pastures, a slow but sure
transition towards financial bankruptcy and the dubious distinction of
leading the list on gender violence.
The
state that ushered in the Indian renaissance can no longer offer
quality education to large sections of her young and aspirational
populace. The one-time intellectual capital of India, Kolkata, now
proudly hosts massive rallies supporting the Razakars who perpetrated
genocide in neighboring Bangladesh and resisted the Indian army while it
liberated East Pakistan in 1971. When Muslim miscreants went on a
rampage to vent their ire against acclaimed author Tasleema Nasrin for
articulating her views on Islam, the state meekly surrendered by packing
Ms. Nasreen off to Delhi.
The
buck for this holistic decline must stop with the left regime that was
granted an almost unprecedented mandate of 35 consecutive years. Their
trade-unions destroyed the work-culture and demonized the industrialists
as public enemies. Despite the availability of an educated English
speaking work-force, Kolkata could not develop into a hub for
knowledge-based industries like information technology. The red regime
systematically undermined its institutions -undeserving political
affiliates were awarded academic chairs in prestigious Universities and
the police force was heavily politicised. The political leadership
lacked the vision to champion the tourism industry in Bengal despite its
natural beauty, rich wildlife and architectural gems.
The
repeated electoral victories of the left owed to the limited choice the
almost non-extant opposition provided to the electorate. In contrast,
CPIM had a strong political grass-root organization and a leader of
stature in Jyoti Basu. Its extensive network of party offices served as a
parallel administration. The dysfunctional governance machinery
compelled the citizens to rely on this interface for almost every
service the state is mandated to provide.
The
politics of entitlement accustomed the citizens to receiving favors
rather than exercising their rights as tax-payers. Furthermore, the
agrarian land-reforms, Barga, that the left regime initiated immediately
after its inception, created a loyal vote-bank comprising of the
erstwhile land-less agricultural laborers. The fact that these land
reforms undermined the overall agrarian growth by dis- incentivizing
investment in agricultural technology and resulted in small and
segregated land-holding patterns did not register with the masses.
The
regime changed, eventually, but for all the wrong reasons. Buddhadev
Bhattacharya, who succeeded Jyoti Basu, recognized the import of
industrial growth but lacked the political acumen to execute his vision.
It is around this time that a feisty and a populist political
opposition emerged. Mamata Banarjee successfully opposed the arbitrary
and also the just land acquisitions in Nandigram and Singur. And, the
dream of industrialization was dealt a body blow when the Tatas rolled
their Nano project out of Singur to Sanand in Gujarat.
The
agrarian discontent resulting from land acquisition coupled with the
grievances on governance among the urban electorate lead to the
parivartan that ushered in the Trinamul (TMC) era in Bengal. In reality,
it is only the political color that changed – TMC has merely (but
literally) painted Kolkata blue instead of red. Ms. Banarjee has sought
to out-left the left -Bengal continues to have its mass political
rallies, its political murders and its gang-rapes – the frequency of the
latter has substantially increased in the last year. The goons who
enjoyed protection of a politicised police force continue to do so
primarily because they have switched their political masters. The regime
that was founded on the flight of a leading industrial group would
naturally not entice capital investment, and it steadfastly refuses to
intervene in acquiring the land that manufacturing units would need. The
politics of appeasement and tokenism remains her forte till date.
Bengal has decidedly moved from bad to worse in the two years of TMC
regime and the memories of the misrule by the left are yet to fade from
public memory. It would have been an opportune moment for an organized
and visible third force to fill in this political void.
BJP and Bengal
BJP
is still not potent enough to challenge the two dominant forces of
Bengal polity, the left and the TMC, throughout Bengal. But, it may well
emerge as an alternate force in targets of opportunity where local
factors can enhance its acceptability. It is worthwhile to note that
Bengal is one of the few states where neither religion nor caste has
played a significant role in electoral politics. Political parties have
always fielded Muslim candidates in constituencies where the population
is largely Muslim, but the majority of Hindus have not been perturbed
with this politics of identity. In fact, Muslim candidates have won from
Hindu-majority constituencies, for example, Kabir Suman, won the Lok
Sabha elections from Jadavpur in 2009 even after he converted to Islam
from Hinduism. But, the politics of competitive appeasement of the
Muslims that has been initiated by Mamta Banarjee and lapped up by the
left and Congress is now being resented even by religion-oblivious
middle class Bengalis. The media has largely concealed the pro-genocide
rallies in Kolkata or the riots that decimated predominantly Hindu
villages in Canning. Regardless, the special protection extended to
miscreants from a particular community has been noticed at local levels.
The
WB government has announced monthly allowances for Imams and 10%
reservation for Muslims in government jobs as part of the OBC quota,
both of which have induced disquiet. No political party other than BJP
has protested against this move so as not to lose its share of the 25%
Muslim vote of Bengal. Successive regimes have turned blind eyes to the
persistent illegal infiltration which is steadily altering the
demographics of the districts bordering Bangladesh. Local discontents
such as the above can enhance the stock of the BJP above and beyond the
state-wide discontent on governance and nationwide appeal of its de
facto prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. It would indeed be
morally right to challenge the politics of appeasement which is in
direct conflict with the secular ethos of our nationhood. Furthermore,
the tokenism has not served its target either – the Bengali Muslims are
far more impoverished than their counterparts in BJP ruled Gujarat for
example. This is the case that must be made to the electorate in general
and Muslims in particular, preferably by Gujarati Muslims who have
increasingly been supportive of the Gujarat model of governance.
BJP
must therefore direct all its organizational resources towards 5-10 Lok
Sabha seats identified apriori as targets of opportunity based on
favorable local factors. It should decide the candidates who would
contest in these seats as early as possible so that they can strengthen
the organization, and enhance their visibility and acceptability among
the voters. For instance, women in several villages have been organizing
apolitical mass movements against rape. Standing in solidarity with the
afflicted would surely establish emotional connections. Candidates who
are independently well-known would add tremendous value to the campaign.
Social
media and creative campaigning techniques (such as the 3D meets and
crowdsourcing of ideas) should be utilized to encourage large scale
volunteering. Different volunteers would naturally devote different
amounts of time ranging from an hour or two each day to activity during
weekends. Some including those from the diaspora may only be able to
remotely participate on a regular basis. Not all would add value to the
campaign and some may even prove to be distractions. Yet, it is their
involvement and not their actual utility that would enhance the mass
base of a nascent political entity. There should be a well-thought out
strategy to utilize the volunteers based on their time commitments,
skill sets and geographical locations. For instance, volunteers who can
participate remotely may be able to contribute to online, phone or SMS
campaigns. Finally, a political web portal that is both informative and
entertaining may have a better shot at converting the un-initiated
-online dissemination of political cartoons, satires, parodies and music
is likelyto be effective in this regard. And, launching these web sites
in vernaculars will enhance their reach.
The
central leadership of BJP has so far appeared hesitant to challenge
Mamata Banarjee in her own turf. In fact, the BJP candidate for Howarah
bypolls was asked to withdraw at the last moment. Some contend that this
was designed to facilitate the reasonably narrow win the TMC candidate
eventually secured. Other than demoralizing the local karyakartas, a
perception of soft spot for a political opponent that moves as these
generate would severely jeopardize the electoral prospects of BJP in
Bengal. Voters never opt for a defeatist political party that seeks to
use them as pawns in the game of electoral alliances.
Furthermore,
the Muslim votebankthat TMC is assiduously courting will ensure that it
will not enter into a pre- poll alliance with BJP. Post-poll, all
parties would decide on alliances based on political expediency and not
pre-poll acrimony. Indeed, the Samajwadi party continued to offer
external support to UPA even after winning the bitterly contested Uttar
Pradesh elections. Thus, BJP stands only to gain if Modi extensively
campaigns in Bengal, exposes the governance deficiencies of the current
and previous regimes and outlines a road map of how a purposeful
leadership at the center can facilitate the transformation of the
political and economic landscape of Bengal.
Saswati Sarkar
Professor of Electrical Engg at Univ. of
Pennsylvania. She has strong political persuasions. Views expressed
here are entirely in personal capacity.
Source: http://centreright.in/2013/07/bjp-dont-give-up-on-bengal/
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