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Journalism of Courage
There is a distinct similarity in the pitches of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP as they campaign in North Bengal for the Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made their stump speeches on April 4 and set the tone for the local representatives of the two parties as they make their final push in the three constituencies in the Dooars — Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar — which vote on April 19.
The Cooch Behar fight is essentially between sitting BJP MP Nishith Pramanik and the TMC’s Jagadish Chandra Burma Basunia — who lost from Sitai in the 2021 Assembly polls. Nitish Chandra Roy of the Forward Bloc (FB) is also in the race, in a “friendly fight” with ally Congress’s Pia Roy Chowdhury.
Barring Chowdhury, all three others are Rajbongshis.
Since at least 2019, the BJP has held the upper hand in this region, and especially in this seat. That year, Pramanik won by over 50,000 votes. In the 2021 Assembly polls, the BJP won all the seven Assembly segments under the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency.
Basunia — whom Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described as “our diamond candidate” at her April 4 public meeting — is banking on the promise of a hike in the CM’s direct benefit schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar. At around 2.30 pm on a Tuesday, the TMC’s Basunia, braving the blazing sun, tells the crowd gathered at the chaupal (community space) of Kalitala-Nayarhat village: “Do you want your Lakshmir Bhandar benefit to double from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 (per month)?” The response is an emphatic “Yes.”
Pramanik is reaching out to all, including Muslims, highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development pitch and the recent series of incidents in Sandeshkhali. Addressing a meeting of around 200 people that same night, at a market in Kaljani in rural Cooch Behar, which is lit up compared to its surroundings, Pramanik, who happens to be the youngest minister in the Modi government, roars into a mic: “Modiji’s central schemes are for everyone — both Hindus and Muslims. Do you want a Sandeshkhali here?” The crowd responds, “No.”
Pramanik’s campaign has been marked by small street-corner meetings with a convoy of cars, mobikes and an open-top jeep; Basunia has been holding meetings in villages accompanied by party workers and leaders.
At Kaljani village, which has a significant Muslim population, Pramanik’s message is the same: “Modiji’s schemes — PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, PM Vishwakarma can be availed by all, Hindus or Muslims. We do not differentiate… I may be the candidate, but it is not about ‘I’. It’s about ‘we’. Let’s all strengthen Modiji’s hand, make India the world’s best nation.” He also steers to Sandeshkhali, asking the crowd whether they know about “the atrocities the TMC did on women there”.
At Nilkuthi Bazar, he arrives as the Forward Bloc’s Roy is holding a rally. As Pramanik says he will wait for Roy to finish — “In a democracy, all political parties have the right to speak” — the crowd cheers.
In his speeches, Basunia mentions the recent poll losses in Cooch Behar. At Kalitala-Nayarhat under Mathabhanga-II block, he admits the setbacks and adds: “This is the time to turn around… You all know and receive benefits of Mamata Banerjee’s schemes like Kanyashree and Lakshmir Bhandar… It is only Mamata Banerjee who has brought so many government schemes for you. Modi won’t do it.”
In a rhetoric quite similar to Pramanik’s, Basunia adds: “We may be the candidates, but Didi (Mamata) is above us all. Vote for Didi.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, Basunia says: “Last time, the Rajbongshis were with them (the BJP). This time, the community is with us. They have realised they will get nothing from the BJP or the Centre. At the PM’s April 4 address in Cooch Behar, there were no yellow Rajbongshi flags, unlike 2019. It is Mamata Banerjee who gave recognition to the Rajbongshi language, set up the Narayani battalion of the State Police for them, and erected statues of Rajbanshi icons (Panchanan Barma and Chila Ray).”
On Sandeshkhali, Basunia says: “The culprits have been arrested by the state police. But what about the Manipur situation? What did the BJP and the Centre do?”
