Health and law and order have emerged as major challenges for the ruling Trinamool Congress ahead of next year’s Assembly elections, where the party is seeking a fourth consecutive term in power.

Several senior Trinamool leaders have privately acknowledged that the government needs to address problems related to the health and home departments — both headed by chief minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee — at the earliest.

“Yesterday’s (Saturday’s) meeting, where Mamata Banerjee expressed concern over the rising number of crimes in hospitals, is an example of how worried the government is about this department. However, beyond these sporadic incidents, the government should also focus on improving services at the grassroots level,” said a senior
Trinamool leader.

“This is not about the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls or the BJP’s Hindutva drive. The real issue lies in multiple governance-related shortcomings, including health, law and order, employment and road infrastructure,” he added.

A source close to the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said he also believes that the government would focus on meeting people’s demands in key sectors such as health and road services.

“People are directly affected by healthcare, road conditions, drinking water and other basic utilities they depend on every day,” the source said.

A source said the Bengal government has already sensed growing anti-incumbency and has launched new initiatives such as the Amader Para, Amader Samadhan scheme to address local issues related to roads, health, and drinking water. The government has sanctioned ₹10 lakh per booth under this scheme.

Following at least three recent incidents — including the alleged sexual assault of a minor at SSKM Hospital — a section of party leaders has recalled the public outrage after last year’s RG Kar Hospital case, in which a woman doctor was raped and murdered on the hospital premises.

A senior health department official said that despite the government’s best efforts to improve healthcare delivery, crimes inside hospitals and opposition attacks have become a threat, fueling anti-incumbency sentiments.

“The government should intensify its campaign highlighting achievements in the health sector. It’s not that public healthcare in the state is poor,” he said.

On Sunday, Trinamool’s official social media handles shared data showing how the state’s health department improved child health over the past 14 years of Mamata Banerjee’s tenure, including a decline in infant mortality and better immunisation coverage.

A source said that recognising the need to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, the government plans to improve services in district hospitals and primary health centres.

“Every day, a large number of people from the districts visit top hospitals in Calcutta. This overcrowding has been affecting service quality, resulting in dissatisfaction among common people,” said the source.

Similarly, the state’s deteriorating law and order —especially cases involving lower-level ruling party functionaries — has become a convenient weapon for the BJP to attack the Mamata government.

“These two crucial departments are headed by the chief minister herself, which is why the BJP and other Opposition parties have been directly targeting her,” said a
Trinamool leader.

These apart, Bengal is gearing up for the SIR, which the state BJP claims will ensure Trinamool’s defeat by cleansing the electoral rolls of bogus voters. Although the top Trinamool leadership, including Abhishek, does not consider the SIR to be a major poll issue for Bengal, a section of his party leaders believes that once the exercise is announced, the party’s organisation would need to ensure that no genuine voter’s name is deleted.

“So, the party must simultaneously focus on the SIR process and address issues related to health and law and order,” said a Trinamool leader.

The BJP has continued its attack on the chief minister, targeting health and law and order.

Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said that no healthcare provider in a government hospital is safe in Bengal.

“Mamata Banerjee is responsible for such incidents. To prevent these, people must make her a former chief minister and reduce her party’s seats to below 148,” said Adhikari, who also held a rally in Bhabanipur, Mamata’s Assembly constituency in Calcutta, on Sunday evening