How Court's Delimitation Stay Buys Suvendu Adhikari Time Ahead of Civic Polls

The elections for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation are just around the corner. Apart from Kolkata, Howrah and several other municipalities are also awaiting civic polls. West Bengal has not held municipal corporation elections for a long time. However, a recent court order has disrupted what appeared to be the BJP's planned course of action.

The Calcutta High Court has not cancelled the elections. Instead, it has directed the State Election Commission to first resolve the controversy surrounding the ward delimitation process and then issue the election notification. The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justices Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Arun Roy Mukherjee.

But what exactly is the dispute?

Under the framework of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, civic elections are held according to the statute's specific guidelines. However, recent legislative changes made by the Suvendu Adhikari government have led to a fresh delimitation exercise, reshaping the electoral map and raising the total ward count from 144 to 209. 

Former CPM councillor Dipu Das has objected to it. His allegation is that the delimitation exercise is, in reality, a BJP plan to increase the number of seats and improve its chances of coming to power. The BJP government's argument, however, is that the population has grown over the years and elections have not been held for a considerable period. Increasing the number of wards, therefore, is justified and would make it easier for the administration to ensure that people receive proper civic amenities.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has said that the government will approach the Supreme Court against the High Court's verdict. However, he has also maintained that the government will proceed with delimitation because it is in the interest of the people of the state. If elections are not held, he argued, the delivery of civic services could be affected. The Opposition, too, has been arguing that the absence of elections would disrupt administration, civic amenities and municipal services.

Yet, the court's decision has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Suvendu Adhikari. Why?

There appears a trend among Trinamool Congress councillors who had won in previous elections, as well as those aspiring to contest, to join the BJP. Many within the Trinamool Congress seem to believe that winning the next election will be difficult. And, as the saying goes, everyone wants to be in power and remain there. A kind of political tsunami has begun, with leaders looking to move from the Trinamool to the BJP.

Suvendu Adhikari, who crossed over to the BJP from the Trinamool and played a major role in weakening his former party, receives considerable credit for this from the party's leadership in Delhi. Mukul Roy, who also left the Trinamool for the BJP, could not achieve the same result. Leaders in Birbhum had also been trying for a long time, but Suvendu succeeded where they did not.

The Trinamool Congress has now become divided into two, or perhaps nearly three, factions. In West Bengal, alongside Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat-based Trinamool Congress, several other groups are also seeking to establish their own political identities under the Trinamool banner. Some of these leaders now want to leave the party and join the BJP, particularly with the Kolkata Corporation elections approaching.

An interesting political development has also emerged around Babun Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee's brother. The Kali Puja he organises is held in Kalighat, close to Mamata Banerjee's residence. The area now falls within Suvendu Adhikari's Bhabanipur constituency. Suvendu recently visited the venue to inaugurate the Kali Puja, and Babun publicly praised him.

The political significance of this interaction has become increasingly evident. Babun was also asked whether he would like to contest the Kolkata Corporation elections as a councillor. He replied that he had not thought about it and was currently concentrating only on the Kali Puja, not politics.

There have been other gestures as well. During the Lakshmi Puja celebrations at Babun Banerjee's residence, Suvendu Adhikari visited the house. Speaking to the media afterwards, he confirmed that he had been served naru, the traditional sweet. He even remarked that he had eaten the naru offered to him there.

These interactions point to Suvendu Adhikari's growing political and public-relations outreach towards sections of the Trinamool Congress that are opposed to Mamata Banerjee. This faction is popularly described as the 'good TMC' or the dissident Trinamool Congress. It is also associated with the group of MLAs in the Assembly that has emerged under Ritabrata's leadership. Members of this group have been increasingly active and are seen standing alongside Suvendu.

At the same time, another development is taking place in Delhi. The group led by Kakoli and Sudip has also been broken up. Taken together, these developments suggest that the Trinamool Congress is facing a wave of internal political shifts, with a growing number of leaders eager to join the BJP.

However, not everyone within the BJP and the RSS is comfortable with this trend. Several leaders have expressed reservations about the growing influx of Trinamool Congress members. Samik Bhattacharya has repeatedly stated on record that the BJP will not allow Trinamool leaders to enter the party indiscriminately. Dilip Ghosh has also questioned the need to open the door simply because Trinamool leaders are repeatedly ringing the BJP's calling bell.

This brings out a clear difference between Suvendu Adhikari's political approach and the position taken by these BJP leaders. Managing this difference has now become a major challenge for the party, particularly when it comes to deciding who will receive BJP tickets for the Kolkata Corporation elections and who will not.

One argument within the BJP is that the party does not have enough suitable candidates of its own. It may not be possible to find an adequate number of candidates at the local level. If so many Trinamool leaders are willing to join the BJP, the party may have to rely on them. Otherwise, where will it find enough candidates to contest the elections?

But there is another school of thought within the party. According to this view, the BJP should be prepared to contest with fewer candidates rather than compromise its own identity. It should not allow its ideology, character or political principles to be diluted merely to accommodate former Trinamool Congress leaders. The party must ensure that there is no 'TMC-isation' of the BJP.

There is also a third possible approach. Dissident Trinamool Congress leaders could contest the elections as independent candidates and work alongside the BJP as allies. If that arrangement is possible, there may be no need for them to merge with the BJP at all.

Resolving these competing positions will require several rounds of discussions between Saumik Bhattacharya and Suvendu Adhikari. The matter needs to be examined ward by ward, with detailed discussions about the candidates and the party's electoral strategy. The BJP leadership in Delhi will also have to be consulted.

Sukanta Majumdar has been given responsibility for the Howrah and Kolkata Corporation elections. It is therefore equally important for the leadership to sit down and discuss the matter with him.

Allowing a little more time for these discussions could work in Suvendu Adhikari's favour. In that sense, the court's decision has become a blessing in disguise. It gives him additional time to manage the large number of Trinamool Congress leaders who are eager to join the BJP while also resolving differences within his own party.

Instead of rushing into decisions, Suvendu can use this period to bring greater clarity to the party's position, settle internal disagreements and prepare a well-defined electoral strategy. That is precisely what he appears to be doing: using the time available to work out a proper action plan before moving ahead.