Today in Politics: BJP’s 12-hr Bengal Bandh begins; Himanta Biswa Sarma faces Opposition ire

Given the BJP’s organisational weaknesses, it seems unlikely that the bandh will have much impact except in pockets where the party still has some effective presence. After the series of setbacks since the 2021 Assembly elections, especially the Lok Sabha polls this year that saw its tally drop from 19 to 12, the widespread protests demanding justice in the R G Kar rape-murder case presented the party with an opportunity to throw its weight behind the protesters, ask some serious questions of the Mamata Banerjee government, and build the credibility of its leadership. But the party may look back on this as a missed opportunity.

In context: For the BJP, the challenge in Bengal is as much about building a credible state leadership team — one that can appear capable of running the state if the party manages to dislodge the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the future — as it is about rebuilding its grassroots structure that has taken a massive hit since 2021. For all his political heft, Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, has not managed to unite the faction-ridden state unit. Though it may be early to say if he has been able to ride out the storm, Suvendu will need the backing of the RSS if he has to lead the party back on track. It is not entirely clear if he has that support at the moment.

Recommended reading: Family, friends remember R G Kar doctor: ‘She proved everyone wrong by becoming a doctor… now we just want our only child back’

Assam Opposition versus CM

At a time the alleged gangrape of a girl has caused uproar in Assam and put a strain on inter-community relations, the Opposition has accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of making statements that could further worsen the situation.

The Opposition and the CM had heated exchanges in the Assembly on Tuesday during a debate on the law-and-order situation in the state, with Sarma saying that he would not “let Miya Muslims take over all of Assam”. Miya is a pejorative term in Assam for Muslims of Bengali origin.

The United Opposition Forum Assam, set up on the lines of the INDIA alliance, has asked the Governor and President of India to remove Sarma from his post. On Wednesday, the Opposition parties are scheduled to file a police complaint against the CM at the Dispur police station. How this develops will be one of the stories to watch out for during the day.

As Sukrita Baruah reported on Monday, the police and administration in Sivasagar district summoned leaders of different organisations after some local groups gave an ultimatum to all “Bangladeshis” to leave within a week because of a threat to the indigenous identity. The alleged rape on August 22 has similarly led to a rise in tensions in the state, with Sarma and other ministers framing it as an “attack on the indigenous”. Flag marches and area domination exercises by the police have been taking place across all districts since Sunday.

In context: The Assam CM is not just the BJP’s most pre-eminent leader in the Northeast, in the past several elections — national and state — he has also been one of its top campaigners.

Sarma found success in welding together the strong anti-immigrant sentiment in Assam with the RSS-BJP’s broader ideological project in the region. His place within the party, as a CM with a national profile, is a recognition that his brand of politics has takers beyond Assam and the Northeast. Over the years, Sarma is said to have played crucial roles for the party behind the scenes in several states. He was said to have been a central figure in engineering a split in the Shiv Sena to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance government in Maharashtra in 2022 and orchestrating the defection of eight Congress MLAs in Goa the same year. He has denied all these claims.

Now in charge of the BJP’s election efforts in Jharkhand, along with Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Sarma is trying to shape the campaign in his image and give the party some momentum. As reported by Abhishek Angad, one of the strategies that the BJP has adopted to win back Adivasi votes is emphasising how the tribal way of life is under threat because of “Muslim infiltration” in the tribal-dominated Santhal Paragana area, allegedly because of the ruling JMM-Congress alliance in the state.

Also happening today:

The Haryana Congress screening committee’s deliberations will continue as it looks to firm up a list for the Assembly elections.

Starting Wednesday, the Council of Ministers in Andhra Pradesh will transition from using pen and paper to the digital mode, meeting via an e-cabinet app. The first digital Cabinet meeting is scheduled to begin at 11 am.

— With PTI inputs