Mamta Banarjee retained her state West Bengal with a resounding victory in assembly polls against the formidable challenge of Modi-Shaha’s aggressive campaign and exodus from her party before the elections. Still, she managed not only to retain seats nearly equal to last time, but she has given a befitting reply to BJP forces in the state. The polarization politics of BJP failed this time. But, it can’t be said it completely failed because BJP has taken a giant leap from three seats to eighty seats. This is the remarkable success of the BJP. Only the Modi-Shaha duo’s extraordinary self-confidence has been rejected by voters. Now, Mamta has got a strong opposition party in the state assembly and so she also will be in check. In the last assembly, there was no opposition party as the left parties had in tacit understanding with Mamta and so there was no real opposition existing. The left parties had got severe punishment in W. Bengal now. They have no presence in assembly now as well as Congress. Mamta will now see towards Delhi as she has emerged as a big challenge to Modi. But, when Nitish Kumar won in Bihar polls in two thousand sixteen, he was also seen as an option to Modi. But he joined the BJP camp. The opposition parties have found a formidable leader in Mamta to take on Modi is true.  For Mamta, it was clearly a question of being history or creating one. By the time EMVs spilt out the mandate, the people of Bengal spoke for the latter. Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee could well just say, “Khela Holo”  (the game was played). Several questions are cropping up today as Mamata Banerjee steers her Trinamool Congress to a yet again resounding victory in West Bengal – a third time in a row. Beating anti-incumbency as well as mounting allegations of nepotism and favouritism within the rank and file of the Trinamool, Mamata Banerjee emerges as the tallest figure in present-day Bengal politics. And secondly, after today’s triumph, Mamata Banerjee emerged as a front runner in the anti-BJP block of parties at the Centre. Her win only made sure the national aspirations of Trinamool as well as her acceptance at the pan-India platform. Taking a peek at the micro-level situation in Bengal, it is now clear as daylight that BJP’s campaign of polarisation, that of polarizing the voters on religious grounds, has backfired on them. Results from the districts of Malda and Murshidabad as well as from the pockets of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Howrah districts show Muslim minority voters have chosen Trinamool Congress over any other party. In Malda and Murshidabad, which used to be Congress bastions, fell en-mass for Mamata Banerjee. The indication is quite clear, they chose Mamata and her Trinamool Congress, despite all her follies and allegations, only to keep BJP at bay. In the whole process, the third political space of Bengal, that of the Left Front and its allies, the Congress and the AISF, only shrunk more as the Left’s as well as the Congress’ traditional voters chose Trinamool Congress. Again, the fact was simple. They voted to stop BJP’s 2019 juggernaut. BJP’s win in 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 was roughly translating to around 121 Assembly seats where the saffron brigade had pinned its hope and also on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the vote strategy prepared by party national president JP Nadda and leaders like Kailash Vijayvargiya, BL Santosh and Arvind Menon. The thing the party failed to see is the silent sub-text created by Mamata Banerjee and her strategists. The more BJP leaders hit on the Pishi-Bhaipo (aunt-nephew) nexus, the more BJP leaders like Yogi Adityanath campaigned in districts like Malda with high pitch slogans of creating Anti-Romeo squads in Bengal, the more Mamata Banerjee consolidated her ground strength. She had two very potent messages up her sleeves – first, the Duare Sarkar (government at your doorstep) programme, which drew huge crowds at camp offices to register and avail of the social beneficiary schemes. Wrapped in the Duare Sarkar programme was the
Swasthya Sathi card, which was registered in the names of the eldest female members of each beneficial household. This ensured that Mamata got the support of women voters in very large numbers. And then, there was the successful trumpeting of the ‘Bohiragoto’ (outsider)
factor by the Trinamool Congress. Trinamool Congress’ campaign, ‘Bangla Nijer Meye Kei Chaye’ (Bengal wants its daughter) resonated rightly among the Bengal polity.
Nevertheless, BJP is on the way to secure around 80 seats in the Assembly, where it had only 3 members since 2016. From the point of political arithmetic, it is no doubt a repeat of what the saffron party had done in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It had gone from a mere two to a spectacular 18 seats. But, this time political chemistry overtook political arithmetic. Had the BJP not made significant gains from Nadia and a bit from North 24 Parganas districts where the Matua voters and in North Bengal, especially in the districts of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and CoochBehar, where the Rajbanshis play a decisive role in any poll outcome, the BJP would have cut a sorry figure. Poll strategist Prashant Kishore keeps his job intact. BJP makes its foray for the first time as opposition in Bengal’s Assembly. The Left Front and its allies are left high and dry, yet again. But, this summer of 2021 Mamata Banerjee goes home as a contended leader and soars several notches in the national political scene, beginning her wait for 2024.