The BJP’s poor performance in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections is an electoral surprise for many.

When the BJP has stormed to power in neighbouring Odisha by dethroning the BJD in the Assembly polls, what factors could have played against the saffron party in Bengal in the parliamentary elections?Issues like internal conflicts and weak on ground election machinery, among others, may have played a spoilsport for the Narendra Modi-led party.

In a major setback to the saffron party, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress increased its seats in the State to 29 in the fiercely-contested LS polls.

Despite the prediction of most of the exit polls that the BJP would get more seats than the ruling TMC in the state, the saffron party bagged a lesser number of seats than the 2019 elections. It was able to pocket only 12 seats this time.

Vote share

In the 2019 LS polls, the BJP had secured 18 seats with 40.64 per cent vote share, while TMC had bagged 22 seats with 43.69 per cent vote share. This time BJP’s vote share came down to 38.73 per cent, while that of TMC rose to 45.76 per cent.

The BJP has been able to retain five seats -- Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduars, Raiganj and Balurghat -- in North Bengal this time. However, the Trinamool Congress has been able to wrest the Cooch Behar seat from incumbent BJP MP and Union Minister Nisith Pramanik, who lost by over 39,250 votes.

What went wrong for the BJP in Cooch Behar?

According to a senior party leader in North Bengal, in Cooch Behar the party was not united. “There were conflicts within the party, which led to the loss,” he said.

BJP District Vice President Ujjal Kanti Basak said the party’s Cooch Behar unit is conducting an internal review. “After the completion of the internal review we can say the reasons behind this result,” Basak said.

Also, Dilip Ghosh, former State President of the saffron party, lost Bardhaman-Durgapur seat, from where TMC candidate and former cricket player Kirti Azad won by a margin of 1.38 lakh votes.

In the 2019 LS elections, Ghosh had won from the Medinipur seat. This time BJP’s Agnimitra Paul lost the seat in South Bengal to TMC’s June Malia by 27,191 votes.

Interestingly, Ghosh has hinted at “conspiracy and backbiting” behind his electoral loss. He said it needs to be examined why the party could not maintain its momentum of growth in Bengal after the 2021 Assembly elections.

“Voters across the country have restrained BJP’s strength, forcing the party to be much more lenient in nature. In West Bengal, beneficiaries of the state government’s social welfare schemes, mainly Lakshmir Bhandar, supported the Trinamool Congress. These beneficiaries are a major part of the electorate,” political analyst Subhamoy Maitra told businessline.

Welfare schemes

The Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, introduced in 2021 by the Mamata Banerjee government, provides cash assistance to women between 25 and 60 years.

“The role of the election machinery on the ground has been very important for the states like Bengal. And, there is no doubt that on this front TMC is much stronger than the saffron party in the State. Moreover, the corruption allegations against the Trinamool Congress government affected only the middle-class, which constitutes a minuscule percentage of the total voters. So, it has not been reflected on the poll results,” Maitra pointed out.

According to political observer Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, support of minority voters also played a big role in TMC’s major win.

“Around one-third of the population in West Bengal are not with the BJP. One out of three persons in the state is from the Muslim community, and they are not with the saffron party,” Basu Ray Chaudhury added.

Related Topics