No alternative to Mamata in Bengal, proves bypoll result

Kolkata: The thumping majority of Trinamool Congress in two of the three Assembly by-elections, the results of which were announced on Thursday afternoon, clearly indicates that there is no substitute for Mamata Banerjee in Bengal at the moment.

A visibly happy Banerjee tweeted: "Today's spectacular victory in the Assembly bypolls proves that the people of Bengal are with us. People of all castes, creeds and communities have voted for Trinamool Congress."

In Kaliaganj and Kharagpur Sadar, Trinamool has opened its account since the inception of the party 22 years ago. While the party incumbent Tapan Debsingha defeated his BJP rival Kamal Chandra Sarkar by a slender margin of 2,414 votes in Kaliaganj, in Kharagpur Sadar party nominee Pradip Sarkar defeated BJP candidate Prem Chand Jha by a margin of 20, 853 votes.

In both Kaliaganj and Kharagpur Sadar seats, BJP had got lead of 78,000 and 85,000 votes respectively in the Lok Sabha poll. Both the seats, however, were Congress strongholds. In Kharagpur Sadar, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh defeated Gyan Singh Sohanpal in 2016. Sohanpal had been an MLA from 1972.

Trinamool suffered badly in the Lok Sabha poll after BJP won 18 seats and routed the party in North Bengal and Jangalmahal. The morale of the party subsequently reached an all-time low and BJP leaders announced in Delhi that all top-ranking Trinamool leaders would join the party in seven phases. However, it did not happen and the majority of those who had joined the saffron party later came back to the old fold.

To salvage the party, Banerjee began visiting the districts and met the rank and file to help them regain confidence. She took two important decisions to come out of the poll-induced depression Trinamool was going through.

The Didi ke Bolo scheme was introduced where the party leaders and workers were asked to build intense contact with the masses. The scheme went on to become a grand success and paid great dividends in the by-elections. The party leaders visited every household and even tendered apology for the harsh behaviour of some Panchayat leaders. This eventually helped Trinamool get back lost ground in the rural belt.

Secondly, Banerjee assigned state Transport minister Suvendu Adhikari, to look after the election campaign in Kharagpur Sadar and Kaliaganj. Adhikari is well known for his leadership skills and from June he organised the base of the party in the two constituencies.

On the other hand, the arrogance of BJP went up after the party got 18 out of 42 seats in the Lok Sabha poll. Party leaders were brought in from Delhi to campaign for the candidates.

The highhandedness of the saffron leaders and their contradictory statements over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) eventually proved to be counterproductive. The by-election results have once again exposed the organisational weakness of the party in Bengal.

The appointment of poll strategist Prashant Kishore has also helped the party improve its performance. From the start, Kishore has given emphasis on the organisational strength of the party in the grassroot level.

On key issues, it was either Banerjee or some senior leaders who talked to the press. This has also helped the party as the chances of 'loose talk' were greatly reduced.