Mamata's Political Chess: Consolidating Support in Minority-Dominated Districts | Bengal Politics

In order to strengthen her party's base of support in the minority-dominated districts of Malda and Murshidabad and to send a strong message to Congress that she is equally popular in these areas—which the Grand Old Party claims to be its strongholds—chief minister Mamata Banerjee adopted a multifaceted approach on Wednesday.

She used the development card, criticizing the Center for not allocating cash to repair erosion, a long-standing issue that thousands of people in both districts can readily connect to.

However, Mamata, who is in campaign mode despite the fact that the Parliament elections have not yet been declared, went on walks in Malda and Berhampore and engaged with the public in the same way that she did on Tuesday in North Dinajpur, another region where the Congress claimed to have a base of support.

"The national government is not assuming any accountability for halting erosion in various Murshidabad and Malda blocks. There is no longer any dredging of the Ganga river bed by the Farakka Barrage Project Authority. Speaking during a public service distribution program in Malda, Mamata said, "People are suffering in both districts and losing their land and houses."

Trinamul leaders at the BJP administration in the Central region have often questioned if the government is being "selective" in implementing anti-erosion measures on both sides of the Ganga given the demographics of these two districts.

Minorities make up around 55 percent of the population in Malda and 77 percent in Murshidabad.

Nonetheless, the state government has taken action to stop erosion. I have requested that the administrative representatives of Murshidabad and Malda locate government land that is at least ten kilometers far from places impacted by erosion. In these locations, those who are expected to lose their homes and land due to erosion will get rehabilitation. They will get land rights and help in constructing their homes," she said.

Her comments seem to be an attempt to emphasize that while her administration is making every effort to assist these individuals, the Center is indifferent to the erosion victims.

"It would undoubtedly have an effect on those who have lost their properties because of erosion or are living in fear of losing them, and it would assist Mamata Banerjee in garnering votes from minority communities," a political analyst said.

Mamata used the development card as she detailed the state's efforts to stop erosion and assist the victims.

In these districts, Trinamul and Congress each won two members in the Parliament in 2019. The BJP won Malda North, the fifth seat.

Nonetheless, Trinamul's performance increased in 2021. It won 20 of the 22 seats in Murshidabad and eight of the twelve Assembly seats in Malda.

She lay the groundwork for many additional projects that would need the state to invest over Rs 1,500 crores in total, as well as launched new ones in Malda and Murshidabad.

She also mentioned migrant workers, adding that the state would help the thousands of individuals from Malda and Murshidabad who work in other states; the majority of them are from minority populations.

"You need to make certain that your name appears on the voter list. or else you would be in a predicament if the BJP adopts the NRC," Mamata said.

She discussed the Malda-Murshidabad-Nadia tourist circuit in Murshidabad and said that her administration is attempting to promote and develop it.

Mamata took a helicopter this morning from Balurghat to the district police lines in Malda. She then began to greet and mingle with others as she made her way to the meeting location, which was about a kilometer away.

Mamata shook hands with people, spoke to schoolgirls, and embraced youngsters as hundreds gathered on both sides of the street.

Later in the day, a similar spectacle was seen in Berhampore, the hometown of PCC president and renowned Mamata-baiter Adhir Ranjan Choudhury.

Following the government ceremony held at the community stadium, Mamata strolled across the town for one kilometer. After landing in Berhampore, she took out for Nadia.

Spectators pointed out that Mamata's comments and her visits to Congress's traditional strongholds demonstrate Trinamul's unwillingness to make room for the party.

When it comes to the Bengal Lok Sabha seats, "these prove that she is ready to take on BJP alone and even other political contenders like Congress and the Left, though they are constituents of the INDIA bloc," an analyst remarked.