A 'Babri Masjid' plan by now-suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir in Murshidabad district has added yet another dimension to what will probably be next year's most aggressively contested Assembly elections in West Bengal.
The political atmosphere in the state, which the BJP is desperate to win, is already charged because of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and all eyes have been on how the ruling Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will tackle the latest polarising issue.
Kabir, 62, the MLA from Bharatpur who was with the BJP before joining the Trinamool Congress (TMC), has now announced that he will start his own party. He is also looking for partners like the AIMIM and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) - the only non-TMC, non-BJP party to win a seat in the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections - in an effort to corner a chunk of the approximately 30% Muslim voters in the state.
To counter this, Banerjee and the TMC are expected to highlight the link between Humayun Kabir and the BJP. The party has previously said that Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM has been used as part of the BJP's strategy to help the party in a number of states, including Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, with the primary goal of dividing the Muslim vote.
In rallies, Banerjee has been highlighting these aspects and urging people to vote for the TMC and no other party - not even Independents - if they want to keep the BJP out of power.
The Trinamool Congress chief has also been visiting areas with a high concentration of Muslims and people from the SC/ST community to prevent their names from being left off the voter list during the SIR. The BJP has been using SIR to highlight the problem of "infiltrators", and Kabir's mosque plan has given it more ammunition against the TMC.
Banerjee and the TMC are aiming to tackle this by focusing on the question of Bengali identity, which they used effectively during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the 2021 Assembly elections as well. Last week's incident, when a man was assaulted for selling chicken patties near the venue of a Bhagavad Gita recital in Kolkata, is being used by the party to claim that the BJP is attempting to convert the nation to vegetarianism, which is opposed to pluralism and the identity of Bengalis, who famously love their fish. During Bengali weddings, fish is also decorated and given to the bride's family by the groom's side to symbolise good luck and prosperity.
Populist policies are seen as having contributed to the JD(U)-BJP's massive win in Bihar in November, and Banerjee is expected to announce similar measures, including an increase in the 'Lakshmi Bhandar' programme for women. A curtailed version of the Bengal Global Business Summit will also be held next year to showcase the party's focus on both people's welfare and development.
Alongside all of this, the TMC has also sharpened its attack on the BJP-led Centre for not giving Bengal its share of funds.
Trinamool's Assessment Of Kabir
On the Kabir issue, sources close to the TMC said the party sees him having an effect in pockets of Murshidabad district at best. "He is not seen as a pan-Bengal phenomenon," said a source.
The party's understanding is that the Indian Secular Front, which had allied with the Left Front and the Congress last time, will also not be happy with another Muslim party's emergence in Bengal and may not support Kabir to the extent that he wants.
The SIR and other issues, the sources said, are also seen as having angered Muslims and this may consolidate the community's votes in favour of the TMC.
Another thing that the party believes is working in its favour is that it has started district-wise campaigns already, but the BJP has not.
The BJP, however, feels there is discontent among people with Banerjee's rule and alleged corruption under the TMC, and there will be a silent change in the polls.
