Nabanna Abhiyan: WB BJP wakes up from its political hibernation?

BJP’s recent Nabanna Abhiyan was witnessed after a lull that lasted for more than a year. The Saffron party had put in all its might in West Bengal’s last year crucial Assembly election and following its post-poll performance, the party, in the state, had seen a lot of transformation. However, with last Tuesday’s action, it seems that the BJP wants to put all that in flashback mode and is raring to go ahead with renewed vigour. The party’s Nabanna Abhiyan was one of its biggest campaigns in West Bengal in recent times. With a little over two years left for the crucial Lok Sabha election, the BJP again seems to be upbeat and the national leadership is also taking keen interest in West Bengal’s political developments. With the recent raids by the Enforcement Directorate and summoning of TMC leaders in cases of alleged corruption, on Ground Zero, the grassroots workers of the Saffron party have been working hard to mobilise the cadre and induct youth into the party fold. It may be recalled that during a visit to West Bengal in May 2022, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had assured state BJP leaders as well as the cadre that he would directly monitor the party’s activities in the state unit. This, perhaps, has boosted the cadre which was feeling left out after the Assembly election drubbing and the subsequent “silence” of sorts of the state unit leaders for all these months.

The appointment of Sunil Bansal as the West Bengal observer has infused a lot of zeal among the ranks. The appointment and his visit last month have boosted the confidence of the state unit. Also, “The videos of cash recovered in the ED raids shown on the media repeatedly gave confidence to the party cadre too and most believe that the state unit’s allegation against TMC has been taken seriously by the party’s central leadership. It seems that the BJP’s Bengal unit which was completely silent has again regained its inertia. On Tuesday, with Bansal in the state, the boosted party had started its Nabanna Abhiyan. The Abhiyan was capable of bringing together all the top rung leaders of the state unit together. It seemed that the party literally woke up from its slumber in WB. However, state BJP leaders said it was not a “oneday miracle” and that the leadership had “been active on Ground Zero”. Also, state organisation secretary Amitava Chakraborty, appointed in October 2020, was involved in building a “strong young cadre base” across West Bengal. Chakraborty, with his RSS-ABVP background, had worked and campaigned vigorously on the Centre’s welfare schemes in West Bengal. The party’s current leadership combo also seems to be settling down and is gradually finding its stance. With the appointment of Sukanta Majumdar as the state unit’s chief in September 2021, the party’s top rung leaders earned laurels from their bosses in Delhi for their Abhiyan. BJP’s national president JP Nadda recently appointed former Bihar minister Mangal Pandey the state incharge for West Bengal. The party’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya is already working with the state unit since November 2020, and national secretary Asha Lakhra are the co in-charges.

WHAT IS IN STORE?
With Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar severing ties with BJP, the Saffron party has again set its eyes on West Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats to compensate for the reported loss in Bihar. It may be recalled that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had managed to win 39 of the 40 parliamentary seats in Bihar in 2019. However, this time, BJP, in order to remain on top will have to ensure an adequate number of seats in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Telangana. With the Nabanna Abhiyan, the party workers who had lost steam, seems to be a spirited lot. A boosted BJP now looks to be in an upbeat mood especially with Amit Shah’s recent visit which provided fresh hopes to the state cadre which appeared disillusioned. The workers on the ground now feel that Shah and then Bansal did the needful to bolster their faith and believe that the central leadership had not taken a “soft approach” towards the TMC government.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

ROBIN ROY  The writer is Senior Journalist and former Managing Editor, First India