Today in Politics: As doctors go on a nationwide strike over Kolkata hospital rape-murder, what does TMC have on the line?

In context: For Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the incident at the R G Kar Hospital has caused the biggest dent in their track record on women’s safety and has presented the Opposition with an opening like never before to corner the state government. Even the widespread violence in the aftermath of the 2018 panchayat elections and the post-poll violence after the 2021 Assembly elections did not bring as many ordinary citizens out on the streets as on the night of August 14, when people gathered across Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal to protest against sexual violence.

On Friday, the CM herself took to the streets along with prominent women leaders of her party to protest the rape and murder of the trainee doctor. With this, Banerjee attempted to get back to what she knows best: getting into the street-fighter mode. If she succeeds in shifting the narrative away from the way the case was initially handled, Banerjee, to a large degree, will be able to take the sting out of the protests against her government. Demanding that the investigation be wrapped up by Sunday and that the culprits be hanged, the TMC has targeted the Opposition for “politicising” the case and called for an end to “fake news” around the incident.

Given that women have been one of the strongest pillars of Mamata Banerjee’s success in recent elections, any threat to that vote bank is bound to be viewed with alarm within the TMC and is an opportunity for the Opposition to deal the ruling party a body blow. Women’s vote is one of the TMC’s biggest assets apart from the support of religious minorities, especially Muslims. The long queues of women during the Lok Sabha elections indicated how the TMC’s welfare schemes for them had helped it consolidate the support of women and trump the BJP.

For the Opposition, especially the CPI(M), the R G Kar case presents the biggest opportunity in years to corner the Mamata government. Instead of its usual crop of senior leaders, the Left party, which has given the youth opportunities in recent elections, has seen its young faces lead the movement for justice for the R G Kar doctor. The thinking within the Left at present, according to insiders, is not about any electoral gains but more about building the credibility of its next generation of leaders by ensuring they remain “involved in this movement”.

On the other hand, while BJP leaders have been part of the protests, the party itself, given its organisational weaknesses, has not been able to lead the pushback against the TMC government.

How the developments around the R G Kar rape and murder continue to shape West Bengal politics — including the TMC’s next steps to contain the damage and the Opposition’s attempts to push the state government on the defensive — will be closely tracked in the coming days.

Recommended reading:

• A doctor’s murder and a broken system in Bengal
• Authorities have failed them. Arm women doctors with stun-guns

Crucial BJP meeting

On Saturday, the BJP’s top leadership in New Delhi will meet with the party’s state presidents and general secretaries across India. This will be followed by the election of the party’s office-bearers from local to state-level committees.

As Vikas Pathak reports, “While some delegates who will attend the meeting said organisational discussions will involve polls to committees at the local, mandal, district, regional and state levels, a few said they do not rule out a bigger announcement. This comes amid the buzz in recent weeks that the party may appoint a working president, paving the way for current president J P Nadda, who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha and appointed Union Health Minister, to gradually move away from organisational responsibilities.

“One expectation is that the BJP may decide on a working president before the coming RSS coordination meeting with affiliated organisations in Palakkad, Kerala, at the end of August.”

Recommended reading: How BJP chooses its president

Also happening today: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress have said they will boycott a two-day orientation session of Odisha MLAs in protest against the Assembly inviting a Union Minister, Kiren Rijiju, to inaugurate the event. Sujit Bisoyi has more on this.