Jailed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s loss is going to be stormy Trinamul petrel Mahua Moitra’s gain.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to skip the INDIA rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on March 31 to be in Krishnanagar with Mahua to launch her campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.
Trinamul has fielded the expelled MP, one of the most vocal critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from Nadia’s Krishnanagar for the second time in a row. Krishnanagar votes in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections — which makes Mamata’s campaign kick-off, usually launched from north Bengal, all the more significant.
Multiple sources in the Trinamul Congress said the launch date and the choice of venue had cleared the air on two issues.
First, Mamata — who stood firmly behind Kejriwal after his arrest and condemned the use of central agencies to target Opposition leaders — will not be at the national capital for the joint protest rally in support of the Delhi chief minister. Second, the no-show at Ramlila Maidan will not dilute her anti-BJP position as the alleged abuse of power by the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI is likely to be the theme of her speech.
“Didi will mount an attack on the BJP separately from Krishnanagar.... No prizes for guessing that the main theme of the attack would be how the BJP is using the central agencies to go after Opposition leaders,” said a source.
During multi-phase elections in the state, Mamata usually launches her campaign from north Bengal that votes before the south. The departure from the usual practice, multiple sources said, was aimed at making a strong statement at the first campaign meeting.
Krishnanagar goes to the polls on May 13 during the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Though Moitra had won with a margin of over 63,000 votes in 2019, observers feel the battle this time will be more interesting as the BJP has fielded Amrita Roy, a member of the royal family of Krishnanagar, also known as the “Rajmata of Rajbari”.
“There is considerable time left before the elections in Nadia whereas the poll process will start in north Bengal from April 19.... The fact that Didi is still launching her campaign from Krishnanagar means there is a plan,” said a source.
According to him, the plight of Moitra — who was expelled from Parliament over the cash-for-query controversy — will give her a chance to turn the tables on the BJP, which is drawing up plans to defeat the ruling party in Bengal on the issue of dignity of women by leveraging the alleged incidents of sexual violence in Sandeshkhali.
The saffron ecosystem had gone after Moitra following the cash-for-query controversy and she became a target of misogynistic attacks that did not go down well with most Bengali women.
“They called her names and even attacked her for her sartorial preferences. The chief minister will not miss the opportunity to remind the people about the BJP’s treatment of a Bengali woman,” said a political observer.
“On a day INDIA bloc leaders will go after Modi for the ED’s arrest of Kejriwal, the Bengal chief minister, in all likelihood, will mention how the CBI has been obstructing her campaign by raiding her temporary election office,” added the observer.
A Trinamul source said that an early meeting in Nadia would do a world of good for the party organisation for both the Lok Sabha seats — Krishnanagar and Ranaghat — in the bordering district where the BJP has been steadily gaining ground by playing the communal card. The BJP had won Ranaghat the last time.
“Muslims played an important role in Mahua’s victory in 2019 as she managed significant leads from the minority-dominated Chapra and Kaliganj Assembly segments. The BJP is banking on consolidating Hindu votes and the district leadership is failing to handle the situation,” said the source.
“Didi’s presence can change the situation and we are happy that she is launching her campaign from Nadia,” the source added.