Temples To Social Media: Mamata Banerjee-Abhishek's 5 Strategies For Bengal

On Makar Sankranti, the cold is harsher than at other times. Yet the political heat ahead of the high-stakes West Bengal Assembly election is intense and unmatched, especially against Mamata Banerjee's government, with strong pressure from Delhi.

The BJP's central leadership in Delhi is working on several strategic fronts to oust the Trinamool regime. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls is a major point of contention, which the BJP is strongly highlighting, claiming that crores of names will be deleted from the voter list.

The deletions are part of reforms by the Election Commission that the Trinamool has objected to, flagging what they described as faulty procedural aspects. Deaths and suicides -- particularly those of booth-level officers (BLOs) on ground duty for SIR --have become a major issue, especially in view of BLOs' protests across several districts.

Hindutva and other political issues remain in focus as well.

The situation only gets more intense with visits by top BJP leaders. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who recently attended organisational meetings in Bengal, will be back again soon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, has two meetings scheduled this month, one in North Bengal and another in Singur, where massive protests over the land acquisition for a Tata factory had set the backdrop for Mamata Banerjee's rise to power.

In this scenario, the aggressive approach adopted by the BJP has compelled Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee to revisit their political strategy. They are strategising more aggressively and perhaps are more united than ever.

Here are five crucial points in Trinamool's new strategy:

Mamata In Kolkata, Abhishek Handles Visits

At the centre of this new strategy is an unprecedented outreach campaign by Abhishek Banerjee that will see him visit more districts. He has already started visiting some districts and gaining supporter base. While he focuses on the outreach, Mamata Banerjee will be spending more time in Kolkata and steering the campaign. Her stay in Kolkata is likely aimed at countering the increasing unpredictability of the BJP, such as the sudden ED raids at the I-PAC office and Pratik Jain's house. With an overall view of the developments, she will cover the party's crisis management aspect. This, however, doesn't mean she will be entirely staying away from district visits.

Aggressive Social Media Campaign

Besides rallies, the aunt-nephew duo is prioritising modern technology too. With social media emerging as a more effective influencing tool than newspapers and television, they are undertaking an aggressive online campaign to win over Gen Z and young voters. To devise the social media strategy, a closed-door programme was organised with about 10,000 participants, followed by a live telecast. The participants have been making reels based on a question-answer round by Abhishek Banerjee to energise the young workers.

Countering Hindutva Push

To counter the BJP's Hindutva push, Trinamool has adopted two different strategies.

Mamata Banerjee is taking a more ritualistic approach, stressing Hindu symbolism. In the latest instance, she inaugurates a Bagla Mata Mandir in Kolkata, dedicated to one of the most popular Dasa Mahavidya goddesses in Bengal. Soon, she will inaugurate a Mahakal temple in Siliguri. Earlier, she laid the foundation for a Durga temple in Kolkata, attended Ganga Sagar Mela, and visited Kapil Muni's ashram. While her focus remains on temple inaugurations and ritualistic Hinduism, her nephew made a point to pay obeisance to cultural and religious figures quintessential to Bengal. On the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, he visited the Vivekananda memorial.

The strategy is to counter the political Hindutva of the BJP through ancient, traditional Hinduism rather than aggressive political symbolism.

Mamata Banerjee's Report Card

During his district visits, Abhishek Banerjee has been presenting a report card of the Mamata Banerjee government. He is highlighting the schemes introduced over the last 15 years, including those on health and social security, in a bid to counter anti-incumbency against the Trinamool government.

Avoiding a confrontational approach, the Trinamool is trying to highlight the positive aspects of the government and not repeat the CPM's mistake of allowing differences between the party and the government to be out in the open.

In view of the anti-incumbency during Jyoti Basu's tenure, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had tried to project a new CPM, an alternative, but could not overcome public dissatisfaction. The Trinamool doesn't want a similar show of difference between politics and governance ahead of elections, which is why Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee have joined forces.

Meanwhile, an improvement has also been seen in the party-government relationship.

Better Party-Government Dynamics

The Banerjees also seek to ensure that government schemes and party initiatives do not clash. While Abhishek Banerjee plays a major role in nominations, candidate selection, and organisational calls, all final decisions are submitted to Mamata Banerjee, ensuring better dynamics between the aunt and her nephew.

The need for better coordination arises from growing factionalism within the party, with some leaders picking sides between Abhishek and Mamata Banerjee. It may be recalled that during the RG Kar incident, this "old versus new" narrative had come to the fore.

However, such generational conflict appears to have taken a backseat ahead of the elections, with both the Banerjees agreeing to accommodate old and new leaders in the party's strategy and the candidates' list. Though the list is finalised jointly, Mamata Banerjee will have the last word.

Besides, I-PAC plays an important role in the strategy, supporting district-level work and providing organisational assistance to Trinamool. The Chief Minister receives a briefing dossier from the I-PAC every day. She no longer depends on a single source, and inputs come from multiple channels. These inputs are then compiled and analysed. Abhishek Banerjee is also aware of these developments.