A lot riding on women’s votes, TMC and BJP go all out in Bengal as Sandeshkhali episode plays out

During his recent two-day visit to West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to push the TMC on the back foot over Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district’s Basirhat subdivision, where women have accused former TMC strongman Sheiikh Shahjahan, who was expelled by the ruling party last Thursday after his arrest, and leaders of the party of land grab and sexual abuse. This has produced a groundswell of anger against the TMC in Sandeshkhali even as the ruling party in Bengal alleges that the BJP and the RSS have fabricated an “Adivasis versus minorities fight” in the region to make political gains at the expense of marginalised communities.

Raising the Sandeshkhali episode at a rally in Hooghly district’s Arambagh city on Friday, Modi targeted the TMC and the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties and said, “The entire country is watching the situation in Bengal and the conduct of those who advocate for Maa, mati, manush (mother, soil, people). People across the country are sad and enraged to see what the TMC has done with the mothers and sisters of Sandeshkhali. The soul of social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy, who worked for women’s empowerment, will be pained to see such atrocities,” Modi said.

The PM compared the INDIA bloc with “Gandhi ji ke teen bandar (Gandhi ji’s three monkeys)” and laid into it for “keeping mum on the issue of atrocities on women in Sandeshkhali”. He said in the coming elections even Muslim women would vote for the BJP, adding that while the TMC thinks it will get the support of “some” communities that won’t happen this time. “Dard ka jawab vote se dena (Give your response to your pain through the ballot box),” the PM told the crowd. Modi is scheduled to address the national meeting of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Barasat in North 24 Parganas district on March 7 where, apart from the female beneficiaries of various Central government schemes several women from Sandeshkhali are also expected to participate. Modi Modi is also likely to make some “big announcements” for women voters on March 8 on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

The Trinamool, on the defensive over the BJP’s constant attacks over Sandeshkhali and the resentment on the ground, caught a break when the BJP on Saturday fielded Bhojpuri actor-singer Pawan Singh as its Lok Sabha candidate from Asansol. The following day, facing a backlash from the TMC over vulgar and demeaning references to Bengali women in his songs, Singh withdrew his candidature. “The indomitable spirit and power of the people of West Bengal,” Abhishek Banerjee wrote on X afterwards.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra also took a dig at the BJP over its first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, pointing out that 28 of the 195 candidates were women. “BJP announces 195 candidates of which 28 are women. A measly 14%. Whatever happened to the 33% reservation? Where are their vandanas now? Where is Nari Shakti?” she posted on X on Saturday.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also decided to keep up the offensive and will lead a “padayatra” in Kolkata on March 8.

A senior state BJP leader said, “The tone is set. We now understand what to do. Just a day after Shahjahan’s arrest, PM Modi started his Lok Sabha campaign in Bengal. We had many shortcomings, including the lack of an organisational base, establishing that had been made difficult by constant attacks made by the TMC with the support of state police. But with the emergence of the spontaneous women’s movement in Sandeshkhali just before Lok Sabha, we sense an opportunity.”

A TMC leader said Sandeshkhali had caused some apprehension within the party. “There were already litanies of corruption charges against senior ministers, followed by their arrests by central agencies. But we were fighting these successfully. But this women’s movement, though in just one small place, has had a lot of impact. At a time when the party rank and file is in a dilemma over how to fight back against these allegations came the PM. It is now up to Mamata Banerjee, her charisma and her popularity, to turn the tide. Luckily, we still have some time at hand before the polls.”

Starting Sunday, the Election Commission (EC) is in the state to review poll preparation and central forces have also started arriving in the state. About 100 companies are expected to reach the state in the first phase over this week, with a further 820 companies to be placed in the state by the EC. This is the highest among all states, far above even Jammu and Kashmir where 635 companies are scheduled to be deployed for the polls.