Mamata: Beyond 2021

In the West Bengal election of 2021, the longest state election in the history of India, Mamata Banerjee won the khela, and the BJP lost the plot. How did this happen? Like Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata who was surrounded from all sides, the BJP endeavoured to besiege the Bengal CM and her party with ’weapons’ such as the machinery of the central government, the Election Commission, central paramilitary forces, investigative agencies, the state governor, parliamentarians, financial clout, and most importantly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s undivided attention. Unlike Abhimanyu, though, Mamata Banerjee knew her way out. The author, Jayanta Ghosal, travelled to all the districts of West Bengal and unearthed certain key factors. He found a massive gap in the BJP’s understanding of Bengali identity, which Mamata was able to exploit. An ’overdose’ of central intervention, ranging from paramilitary forces to intelligence agencies to target key TMC leaders, added to the BJP’s disconnect with voters. Increasingly, the state felt the divide between New Delhi and Bengal grow. The book details how Mamata was successfully able to portray herself as the ’daughter of Bengal’ who worked tirelessly for the state’s poor and disadvantaged. With the state election under her belt, what would be Mamata’s path to the general elections of 2024?