Amidst indications of TMC’s Muslim support base weakening, communal clashes ahead of the elections have shifted the discourse from governance issues
Just when corruption at various levels of the administration during the Trinamool Congress (TMC) rule in Bengal, the Narendra Modi-led Union government’s alleged favours to the Adani conglomerate and the centre-state tussle causing public suffering had turned into the talking points in Bengal politics, clashes over Ram Navami processions at three places in the state has taken the discourse back to that of polarisation on communal lines.
Clashes have taken place at three places – at Shibpur in Howrah, Rishra in the Hooghly district of south Bengal, and at Dalkhola in Uttar Dinajpur district of northern Bengal in three days from March 30. One person died in the Dalkhola clashes, whereas those in Howrah and Hooghly left several injured and properties vandalised.
An event-free Ram Navami was necessary for the Mamata Banerjee government, especially from the context of assuring the Muslims of their safety and security under her rule. The ruling party’s recent loss in the assembly bypoll at Sagardighi, where Muslims make up two-thirds of the population, was construed as an indication of a section of Muslim voters turning away from the TMC. Following this, the chief minister removed the minority affairs minister and took charge of the department.
With Ram Navami approaching, both the TMC and the BJP started bringing communal issues to the fore. The moment Banerjee announced a two-day dharna over March 29 and 30, demanding payments due from the Centre, the BJP pointed out that the chief minister exposed her anti-Hindu nature by announcing a dharna on the auspicious day of Ram Navami, March 30. Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, also pointed out that the state government did not declare a holiday on the occasion.
From the dias of her demonstration, on March 29, Banerjee repeatedly expressed her apprehensions that the BJP and other Sangh Parivar organisations were planning to foment trouble.
"I’ve heard people talking about carrying weapons during Ram Navami processions. I am saying, carry whatever weapon you have. We too will be taking out rallies. You take out your own. But if there is any incident of attack in Muslim areas in the name of Ram Navami rallies, the law will spare none," she said on March 29.
After clashes took place in Howrah’s Shibpur on March 30, she was quick to blame various Sangh Parivar organisations, including the BJP, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal. She even gave a clean chit to the Muslims then and there, saying that Muslims do not engage in improper behaviour during the month of Ramzan. Since then, she has been appealing to Hindus to protect Muslims from Hindutva conspiracies during the Ramzan month.
The BJP, the VHP and other Sangh Parivar organisations, on the other hand, have used the chief minister’s comments to show she is anti-Hindu. The party’s national IT cell head and Bengal’s co-in-charge, Amit Malviya, wrote on Twitter, “Mamata Banerjee, after loss in Sagardighi, is desperate to consolidate Muslim vote.”
"She is banking on Muslim appeasement because the panchayat elections are round the corner. How could she say Muslims do no wrong during the month of Ramzan? I understand that she is worried about Muslim votes, but didn’t the Hindus vote for her, too?" asked the BJP’s Hooghly Lok Sabh MP Locket Chatterjee.
Seeing how the situation can once again lead to a TMC versus BJP polarisation like in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 assembly elections, the Left and the Congress, which have been showing signs of recovery from their historic low of 2021, have also started hitting the streets.
They have alleged that both the TMC and the BJP are complicit in triggering communal disturbance to divert the people’s attention from the real issues.
"The riots happened because the government wanted them to happen and allowed them to happen. This is how TMC wants to emerge as a saviour of Muslims. First, make them feel insecure using the BJP scare and then offer them security. The BJP and the TMC are both part of a tu-tu-main-main game to divert people’s attention from the real issues," CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim said while addressing a rally in Howrah district.
The chief minister has asked the administration and her party functionaries to remain on the alert on April 6, the day of Hanuman Jayanti, when several Sangh Parivar organisations and other Hindutva platforms take out processions in different parts of the state.
Whether the Hanuman Jayanti concludes eventlessly remains to be seen. But what most political observers could foresee is the intensification of the debate around communities.