Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has signalled a clear political intention to expose what he describes as a system of corruption, violence, lawlessness, and voter suppression allegedly built under former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, along with those associated with them.
He made these remarks at Diamond Harbour, Abhishek Banerjee's own political constituency. Choosing that location for his first political rally as Chief Minister carried an unmistakable message. Addressing the gathering, he said: "Respected Bhaipo Babu, yesterday I obtained property lease documents from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The company Leaps and Bounds alone has twenty-four properties in Kolkata."
Continuing his attack, he added, "You have a palace-like office in Amtala. Do we not know what people like Jahangir Khan and others did with the support of the police?"
He said this while speaking at a party workers' meeting in Falta, an assembly segment under Abhishek Banerjee's Diamond Harbour parliamentary constituency, where a by-election is scheduled for May 21.
But an important question arises here. Is this only about the Falta by-election, or does the BJP have a broader political plan behind these attacks?
The answer appears to go much deeper than a single by-election.
At this stage, the BJP's immediate objective seems to be to dismantle the carefully built public image of both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. Over the years, a particular perception has been created around them, and the BJP now wants to challenge that perception directly. Their message to voters appears to be simple: you believed a myth, now we are presenting what we call reality. The strategy can perhaps be understood better through Bengal's own political history.
Take the case of Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy. Although he was not West Bengal's first Chief Minister, that distinction belonged to Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, who served for a brief period. Bidhan Roy eventually became one of the defining figures of Bengal's political history. He is still remembered as the architect of modern Bengal. Durgapur was developed under him. Salt Lake was conceptualised under his vision. He also believed that satellite townships should be built so that people would not have to migrate in large numbers into Kolkata, creating excessive urban congestion.
Projects such as Kalyani and alternative urban centres were imagined as part of a larger vision. Even today, Bidhan Roy's image remains largely untouched.
Then came Jyoti Basu. During Bidhan Roy's tenure, Jyoti Basu served as leader of the opposition. He built a distinct image of his own. Educated in London as a barrister, he gave up a comfortable life and embraced Communist politics. He went to jail, joined movements, and acquired a reputation as a principled leader.
But over time, circumstances changed.
The Left Front remained in power for thirty-four years. During Jyoti Basu's later years, particularly toward the end of his second term, allegations of police excesses, anti-social activity, and local strongman politics began surfacing. These issues, which are commonly discussed today, had already started appearing during the Left era.
Before the Left Front, there had been the United Front government under Ajay Mukherjee. Jyoti Basu had then served as deputy Chief Minister and had himself raised questions over law and order issues. He had publicly clashed with Ajay Mukherjee over political violence involving Congress and CPM workers.
As time passed, Jyoti Basu's public image began to change. A section of Bengal's media started campaigns against him. Among them, the Bartaman newspaper became particularly significant because it openly supported Mamata Banerjee.
Mamata Banerjee gradually emerged as a fresh political force. She was portrayed as an honest fighter, someone willing to struggle against an entrenched system. Many senior Congress leaders, such as Ashok Sen, Pranab Mukherjee, Priyoranjan Dasmunsi, Barkat Gani Khan Choudhury, and Somen Mitra, had held major positions. Yet none could establish themselves as a mass alternative capable of becoming Chief Minister.
Mamata Banerjee succeeded where many others could not. In many ways, she became what political observers described as the successful political entrepreneur of Bengal's discontent. She represented frustration, unemployment, poverty, anger, and dissatisfaction. To many people, she appeared almost as a messiah figure who could resolve Bengal's problems.
People believed in her. Even after defeats, she returned the next day and resumed political battles. Eventually, the CPM government lost power.
As Mamata's image rose, Jyoti Basu's influence faded. The decline became so visible that even before the Left government ended, Jyoti Basu stepped aside, and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee became Chief Minister.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee tried to reshape Bengal through industrialisation. At one point, sections of the media even described him as the "Deng Xiaoping of Indian politics". Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh openly praised his reform-oriented approach.
But Buddhadeb too ran into the familiar conflict between industrial development and ideological resistance. Singur and later Nandigram transformed Bengal's political landscape.
Mamata Banerjee positioned herself as pro-farmer and pro-worker. Buddhadeb was increasingly portrayed as representing industry and capital. The Tata Nano project left Bengal, and the Nandigram firing became the final turning point.
That chapter changed Bengal's politics.
Now, according to this understanding, the BJP appears to be attempting something similar. It wants to reshape Mamata Banerjee's image in the same way her own politics once reshaped the Left's image.
The BJP had attempted an aggressive anti-Mamata and anti-Abhishek campaign before the 2021 election. There were ED raids and sharp attacks. But that strategy did not work as expected. It became counterproductive because Mamata Banerjee's public branding remained strong.
So in the 2026 election, the BJP changed its approach. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not repeatedly target Mamata Banerjee by name as happened in 2021. Amit Shah also avoided making her the direct centre of attacks. Instead, the focus shifted toward criticising the TMC system rather than making it a personal battle.
The question then becomes: if the election is over and the BJP has already won, why restart this attack now?
The answer lies in what comes next. Panchayat elections are approaching after the festive season, likely after Diwali. The BJP wants to expand deeply into rural Bengal through these elections. This resembles the strategy Mamata Banerjee herself used after displacing the CPM.
The earlier Panchayat elections had seen allegations of violence and bloodshed, especially in areas like Diamond Harbour.
Then there are municipal elections. Several civic bodies, including places like Howrah Corporation, have reportedly gone years without elections. Administrative arrangements continue, but civic dissatisfaction has grown because roads, infrastructure and public services have suffered.
The BJP now sees these areas as political opportunities.
At the same time, it wants to avoid widespread violence. The Election Commission's recent model of relatively peaceful polling appears to be influencing future planning. Although there were controversies around SIR and deleted voter names, large-scale election violence remained absent.
In this context, the appointment of Manoj Agarwal as Chief Secretary and Subrata Gupta as advisor to the Chief Minister becomes significant. During the elections, one served as the state electoral officer while the other functioned as the Chief Election observer. Now they are expected to play roles beyond assembly elections.
Meanwhile, Amit Shah's role has also evolved. Since 2017, he has personally supervised Bengal's organisational strategy. It took nearly nine years, but the BJP now appears to have a three-year action plan specifically for Bengal.
State BJP President Shamik Bhattacharya recently met Amit Shah in Delhi, and discussions reportedly focused on this long-term approach. The plan extends beyond electoral politics. The BJP also appears interested in challenging what it sees as Mamata Banerjee's cultural influence over Bengal.
This includes institutions such as book fairs, universities, cinemas, theatre, and broader cultural spaces where the TMC is seen as having established influence over time.
The attempt now is to create an alternative cultural framework. Such changes do not happen quickly. They take time. But according to this political reading, that process has already begun. And the focus is not only on Mamata Banerjee.
Alongside her, Abhishek Banerjee is increasingly becoming a central political target. Questions surrounding his properties, his organisations, and individuals who had remained outside public scrutiny for a long period are also expected to become part of the next phase of political confrontation.
(The author is Contributing Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
