How Mamata Banerjee's Downfall Helps Not Only BJP, But Also Congress

The headlines will scream that the BJP has won the West Bengal elections for the first time, conquering Mamata Banerjee's fortress and shedding, once and for all, the tag of being a "Hindi heartland" party.

Scratch beneath the surface a little, however, and it becomes apparent that the fall of Banerjee will benefit not just the saffron party but also the Congress, an ally of the Trinamool Congress in the INDIA alliance. The Trinamool Congress chief being cut to size means that the Congress no longer has to fend off the one leader who was challenging its primacy in the Opposition space at the national level.

The first signs of Banerjee's ambition of leading the INDIA bloc emerged in December 2023, months before the Lok Sabha elections, when the Trinamool Congress chief proposed the name of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as the prime ministerial face of the alliance. The proposal, which was endorsed by AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, was seen by many as a tactical move to ensure that Rahul Gandhi was not considered the default leader of the Opposition grouping. Live Updates here

Despite the Congress doing relatively well in the 2024 general elections and Gandhi taking charge as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, whispers that Banerjee was the rightful head of the Opposition continued to do the rounds. The ambition was articulated by the Trinamool Congress the same year, after the party won six Assembly byelections and the Congress failed to defeat the BJP in Haryana and Maharashtra.

"For the past three or four years, what have they done? In the INDIA alliance, who is the leader? Nobody has been chosen as a leader, as a face of the Opposition. Now it has to be done. The Congress has failed, that is established. Congress leaders tried in Haryana, they failed. And they failed in Maharashtra as well. It is not only the Congress that has lost... all of us in the INDIA alliance have lost. We reposed our faith in Congress, but it could not achieve the result. Try to understand our point," Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee said in November 2024.

Pulling no punches, the MP continued, "You see, byelections happened. Everyone has criticised Mamata Banerjee, but we won six out of six seats in Bengal. We have won by a margin of 1 lakh. People have reposed confidence in Mamata Banerjee. The people of Bengal and people all over India also prefer Banerjee. People of the country love her. Why? Because she is a fighter. She has been an MP, a railway minister. She has all sorts of qualities, better experience and qualities than whoever is the leader of the Opposition."

A month later, Banerjee also said that she was ready to lead the INDIA bloc.

"I had formed the INDIA bloc, now it is up to those leading the front to manage it. If they can't run the show, what can I do? I would just say that everyone needs to be taken along," the Trinamool Congress chief said.

Asked if she would take charge of the alliance, she said: "If given the opportunity, I would ensure its smooth functioning."

Endorsements

Adding to the Congress' discomfort, some other allies also began speaking out in favour of the Bengal chief minister being the face of the Opposition.

Stating that Banerjee should be allowed to lead the INDIA bloc, RJD Chief Lalu Yadav said in December 2024 that it would not make a difference if the Congress opposed it.

"The Congress' opposition will not make any difference...She should be allowed to lead the INDIA bloc," Yadav said.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena also hinted that Banerjee's leadership could help the INDIA alliance and the Opposition fight the BJP better.

'Winning Formula'

After winning the Bengal Assembly elections with a thumping majority in 2021 and defeating the BJP, which had expended significant resources on trying to win, Banerjee said her party was the only one which had a winning formula against the saffron party.

In the years that followed, the Trinamool Congress chief said several times that the Congress and Rahul Gandhi lost when they took on the BJP one-on-one, while she had a proven track record of defeating "the full might" of the party.

Even in the lead-up to the Bengal elections this year, Banerjee hinted that she has national ambitions.

Addressing a rally in Kolkata last month, the Trinamool Congress chief said she would "dismantle" the BJP at the Centre by bringing together Opposition parties.

"Remember this, you cannot defeat us. We fight against injustice; we fight for our rights. I was born in Bengal, and I shall breathe my last in this very Bengal. I will take over Delhi once I have secured victory in Bengal. I will do so by rallying all the political parties together. I don't want the seat (of power); I want the complete dismantling of the BJP in Delhi. While their destruction in Bengal is inevitable, the BJP must be ousted from Delhi as well," she said.

As of 4 pm on Monday, however, it was clear that her party would not even cross 100 seats in the 294-member Bengal Assembly.