8/12/2019 Saffron Surge in Bengal!

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THE TIMES OF INDIA |KOLKATA |WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014

LEADING FROM

FRONT

MURSHIDABAD HAS THE MAXIMUM NUMBEROF YOUTH ENROLMENT THIS YEAR,FOLLOWED BY MALDA AND EAST MIDNAPORE

Some DMs and SPs are working in favour of the ruling party. Wehave asked the election commission to take over the charge of thelaw and order situation in Bengal | RABIN DEB

DanceofDemocracyBATTLEGROUND BENGAL | 12APR-12MAY, 2014

Saffron Surge A Riddle In BengalTIMES NEWS NETWORKF

ifteen years ago, Bengal, which was then a redcitadel, sent two BJP leaders to Lok Sabha TapanSikdar and Satyabrata Mookherjee. They becamejunior ministers in the NDA ministry. Atal BihariVajpayee was the BJPs face then.

The Bengal saffronites, who sprung a surprise in politicalcircles, are back in the fray from the same constituencieswhen a NaMo breeze is blowing across the country. Theirrivals admit that an upswing in BJP vote can upset pollcalculations this time. In the years since 1999, the BJP voteshare has fluctuated between a low 1.39% (in Jadavpur) to ahigh 26% (in Madarihat, Alipurduar). Numbers are likely tochange, with BJP emerging as a potent force in a host ofconstituencies.

For some years now, Bengal is witnessing a silentmigration labourers and educated youths alike to otherstates. Fragmented land holdings and lack of new industriesare pushing Bengals productive class out. The shifting ofTata Motors Nano factory from Singur to Sanand was amassive blow.

Youngsters moving out have started comparing Bengalsperformance with other states. The desperation underminesthe Bengal governments positive role in social sector whencompared to Gujarat. Spiralling inflation and joblessnessbother them the most.

Left Front cannot exploit this resentment because theyare also responsible for it. Congress is on the slide, thanks tothe corruption and scams of UPA-II and the annoyinginflation that it could not check. A sizeable section of urbanvoters is looking beyond fixed frames.

The projected emergence of Narendra Modi has come asa threat to minorities, particularly Muslims who constitute26.27% of Bengals population. The fear is palpable inminority-dominated Rajabazar as in Murshidabad, whereMuslims constitute the majority. However, politicalobservers maintain that consolidation of the minority votebank might prompt a counter-consolidation of Hindu votesthat can go in BJPs favour. A tie-up of Gorkha JanmuktiMorcha and BJP may upset poll calculations in adivasi-dominated Dooars and Terai if Jharkhand Mukti Morcha tiesup with GJM-BJP combine

Poll surveys project an upswing in BJP vote. The question is by how much and whose vote is it going to erode. Voters holdthe key. But it would to be simplistic to conclude that BJP would increase its vote share at the cost of the rulingTrinamool. If it does, BJP candidates will do so across political lines Trinamool, Congress and Left. Going by the 2009Lok Sabha polls, there are constituencies where BJP can play game-changer. The following seats have been chosen onpoll figures, demography and the present ground reality

41.22%21.40%

29.14%

ALIPURDUARS

44.38%6.82%

43.79%

BALURGHAT

42.43%16.76%

35.03%

KRISHNAGAR

48.69%5.56%

40.53%

ASANSOL

49.91%6.50%

38.14%

BOLPUR

47.78%6.68%

41.25%

MALDA NORTH

48.04%3.80%

44.27%

HOWRAH

47.04%5.71%

44.94%

DUM DUM

BJPS VOTE SHARE IN 2009 LOK SABHA POLLS

THE DOWNSIDEBJPs vote share had been on the rise tillthe panchayat elections when it was cut by half

Its tally of 581 gram panchayat seats in 2013 is onlyhalf that of its biggest win of over 1000 seats in 2008

It doesnt have a single zilla parishad seat and only36 panchayat samiti seats

THE UPSWINGThe Jangipur Lok Sabha bypolls in Oct2012 showed a meteoric rise in BJPs voteshare from 4% in 2009 to 12%. This alarmed

other parties. BJP candidate Sudhanshu Biswas got85,857 votes in an area that has 71% Muslim population

In the assembly bypolls in Daspur and Bankura, BJPgained nearly 2% votes. And this upsurge was evidentbefore it, when BJP bettered its 2011 assembly pollperformance in municipality elections in Durgapur,Dhupguri and even Panskura and Haldia

52.50%4.22%

40.05%

KOLKATA NORTH

46.19%6.55%

40.39%

BASIRHAT

TrinamoolCongress(TMC)

IndianNationalCongressParty

CommunistParty ofIndia(Marxist)

BharatiyaJanataParty (BJP)

LEGEND

Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)doesnt enjoy a strong base in the state, but the par-

ty may upset equations in many constituencies ifyoung many of them first-timers voters havetheir way. The Modi factor appears to have weaved amagic among the young lot desperately seeking a

change. With 14.21 lakh first-time voters and a stag-gering 20.79 lakh voters in the 18-19 age group inBengal this time, it can be anybodys game at quitea few seats that will see close contests betweenstrong contenders.

So what has worked in favour of Narendra Mo-di, the maverick chief minister of Gujarat? Talk-ing to a host of youngsters from different fields,TOI found that anti-incumbency sentiment runshigh among this new breed. Secondly, with no

proper alter native in the fray, Modi has come up asthe obvious choice. As far as the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) is concerned, inexperience in governanceworked against it. Above all, everyone TOI spoke to

wanted a stable government at the Centre. Interest-ingly, none of them was in two minds when it cameto divide their attention between the regional fa-vourites and those at the Ce nter.

Student Aqsa Mustaque didnt want to get stuckwith the burden of the past. The Gujarat riot wasa huge misunderstanding that we need to leave be-hind and move forward. So far, we, as a nation, haveshowed the promise of becoming a super-power. Itis time to deliver. In this regard, I heap my faith onModi, she said.

For BPO professional Trisha Pal, Modis the on-ly option. Modi may not be my favourite buttheres none to champion a strong proposition. T he

AAP is too young to be at the helm of national af-fair, she reasoned. Young educated minds, many

of whom voluntarily attended NaMospublic rally in Kolkata last month, want to thinknationally. We know the BJP has hardly any basein Bengal, yet I want make my choice very clear,

she added.The AAP emerged a strong contender amongyoung voters in Bengal after it had formed thegovernment in Delhi. But it paid a price for its

inexperience. We may think of the AAP at thestate level but NDA has an edge because of itsstronger leadership, said Debangana Sarkar, ayoung banker.

If anti-incumbency is a priority, promises ofyoung vibrant progressive India are high on thewishlist. We are tired of scams, inflation and price-rise. The change is a must, said MoinuddinAhmed, an IT professional.

Aritro Bhowmik and Debparna Talapatra,

through from different academic institutions,breathe in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. The over-all swing is towards the NDA, with some pockets ofpreferences for the Trinamool or the Left. The only

blot in Modis political career is the Gujarat riot,without which I would have stronger conscience tovote for NaMo. But majority will vote for Modi.Even my Muslim friends think on the same lines,

said Debapurna.The BJP is upbeat about the young statistics of

the state. They expect new voters to be unbur-dened by political ideologies and to boost the anti-incumbency wave. The psychology of young vot-ers is unpolluted. These voters are bound to bemore concerned over corruption, price rise andlack of job opportunities. For them, good govern-ance will be the issue, said state BJP president Ra-hul Sinha.

NaMo chant grows louder among youths in stateKrishnendu Bandyopadhyay TNN

RIDING MODI WAVE

TOI

Kolkata: Deputy election commis-sioner Vinod Zutshi on Tuesday as-sured that the state will get more cen-tral forces than it had received duringthe last Lok Sabha election. However,he refused to elaborate on how manycompanies will be allocated forBengal. The state had got 220companies in 2009 and it has requisi-tioned for 300 companies for the five-phase poll this year.

There will be more force than the2009 Lok Sabha elections and we willensure tight security for sensitiveand highly sensitive booths. Apartfrom that, there will be micro-observ-ers, still photography, video photog-raphy and web casting in all booths,Zutshi said.

On the backdrop of the oppositionalleging that the election commis-sion CEO was blatantly favouring theruling party, Zutshi assured that the

model code of conduct will be fol-lowed under all circumstances andthat no undue advantage will be given

to any political party. As a first step,he instructed district magistrates,superintendents of police and statechief electoral officer to take imme-diate action on poll-related com-plaints received so far.

Political parties have expressedconcern over certain issues. Thecommission is committed to makethe election free and fair and I have in-

structed all DMs, SPs and the CEO to

take prompt action. All complaints,be they from political parties or anyother source, must be probed imme-

diately, Zutshi said.When asked why action against

was still not yet taken against Krish-nendu Narayan Chowdhury, Soug ataRoy and Anubrata Mondal, thedeputy election commissioner said,We had detailed discussions onthese issues and I have instructed theofficials to take action soon. The com-mission is committed to instill confi-

dence among voters and if anyone isspotted intimidating or threatening

anyone, he/she should be indentifiedand action should be taken.

Zutshis stricture comes after hismeeting with major political partiesin the state. The deputy electioncommissioner, who is in charge ofBengal, is on a two-day visit to thestate to review the preparedness andthe law and order situation prior tothe election.

Speaking to media after a meetingwith the deputy election commis-sioner, CPM leader Rabin Deb said,There are some district magistratesand superintendents of police whoare working in favour of the rulingparty. We have asked the electioncommission to take over the charge ofthe law and order situation.

Congress leader Manas Bhuniasaid, We have asked the electioncommission to take action againstSPs of Burdwan, Birbhum, Cooch Be-

har, East and West Midnapore andNorth Dinajpur and the district ma-gistrates of Birbhum, South 24-Par-

ganas and Howrah. They are workingfor the ruling p arty. BJP state presi-dent Rahul Sinha added, Our partyworkers are being tortured by the rul-ing party workers and police have re-mained inactive. The election com-mission should look into these grossviolations. When contacted, a topTrinamool leader refused to com-ment.

Bengal will get more centralforces this year: Zutshi

In reply to Rahul Gandhis highway dig,

Mamata Banerjee said: Tenders arepending for ages. Had the roads been

under the state government, we would havedone the job in a day.

Rahul accused the Mamata govern-ment of misutilizing central funds. Wesend crores of rupees to the Bengal govern-ment. Its your money and not for MPs andMLAs, but the sad fact is that it only reac-hes Kolkata, not you. We hope a day comes

when this money reaches you. We are mak-

ing efforts to ensure that your roads reachyou.

Without naming Rahul, Mamata re-sponded: Leaders from Delhi are claiming

they have given us crores of rupees and wenever spend it. Shameless leaders thosewho have never known what poverty is,those who are born as landlords are nowtalking big. They deducted Rs 74,000 croretowards debt repayment and left us to beg.We cannot pay salaries of our employees. I

cant sleep at night thinking of how to gen-erate pension funds. They didnt deduct somuch money from the CPM government.

She said her government would have takenup more development projects for minori-ties, farmers and students in backward ar-eas had the centre not deprived us.

Rahul tried to invoke the Bengali prideby saying that the state has contributed in ahuge manner for the country but has notprogressed as desired. Earlier, there was acommunist government here. Communi-sm failed in Russia and fortunately also inBengal. People had hoped the new govern-ment will work for development, for educa-tion, and for creating jobs and employ-

ment. Unfortunately the Trinamoolgovernment has done the same things forwhich it fought against the communists.

With Baichung Bhutia by her side, Ma-mata said she had come armed with factsand figures. Our government has beendeprived of Rs 87,283 crore in the past three

years, she said. Do not vote for Congress.We are fighting alone because we arebrave.

Leaders in Delhi dontknow what poverty is

At the helipad, a drenched Nirbed Raywas there to welcome Rahul Gandhi.Perhaps sensing Rahuls mind, an SPG

officer told Nirbed: Sir, aap bhi thoda ba-

taayen unko, wahan jana safe nahi hoga(please tell him, its not safe to go there).When Nirbed stepped forward to greet Rahul,he did voice the SPG concern. Rahul looked atthe SPG officer and told him flatly that hewould go to Shah id Minar.

Rahulji, however, agreed to their repeat-ed pleas that speaking on the microphone wasnot safe. The wires had snapped and were ly-ing on the soggy g round. It would have posed arisk not only to Rahulji but for everyone whostood on the ground, Ray said. His own cell-phone was damaged in the rain.

At 4:05pm, before Rahul arrived, security

agencies began their drill. DCP-DD SumanjitRay and DCP-STF Bastab Baidya clearedthe sanitised zone and DCP-south MurlidharSharma tried to clear up the clogged approachroad to the dais. Ten SPG commandos sur-rounded the dais while two didriskier checks. One of them used the micro-phone to check if it had any electrical dis-charge and the other ensured that the daiswould not collapse.

Rahul arrived on schedule, not in his bul-letproof vehicle but in a party car. He strode to

the dais, waved to crowd and then decided tomingle with them. The few thousand who hadbraved the rain cheered as Rahul extende d hishand beyond the barricades. Cellphone cam-eras clicked constantly. It went off without ahitch until a girl jumped two barricades, wild-ly waving at Rahul just when he was gettinginto the car. Kolkata cops quickly blocked heroff as Rahuls vehicle sped away towards theRCTC helipad.

Rain and storm spoilCongress rally

Vinod Zutshi in Kolkata on Tuesday

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Biplab Mondal

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Continued from P1

Rahul Gandhi and (left) Mamata Banerjeeat their respective rallies in North Bengal

L Sah