Mamata's stronghold in Bengal in the final stretch, can the BJP slide?

Polling for 9 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal will be held on June 1 in the seventh and final phase. Polling for 33 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengal was held in 6 phases. After six phases of polling, both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress are claiming victory. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that BJP will get a big victory in West Bengal this time. At the same time, the TMC claims that the Trinamool Congress will get an unprecedented number of seats. The last phase of voting for nine Lok Sabha constituencies in the state will be held on June 1. Polling will be held on June 1 for Parasad, Basirhat, Diamond Harbour, Dumdam, Jainagar, Jadavpur, Kolkata South, Kolkata North and Mathurapur. All these seats are occupied by Trinamool Congress and these Lok Sabha constituencies are considered Trinamool Congress stronghold. Overall, the last phase of elections in West Bengal is going to be held as Trinamool Congress stronghold. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all BJP leaders are putting their full strength into the election campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a road show in Kolkata for the first time. At the same time Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee meetings are going on. In such a situation, it is questionable whether the BJP can break Trinamool Congress' stronghold this time? In the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP unexpectedly won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies. At the same time, the TMC won 22 seats and the Congress had to settle for only two, while the CPI(M), which ruled Bengal, could not even open its account. While the BJP had only two MPs in West Bengal, the number of MPs increased to 18 and was seen as a major challenge to Mamata Banerjee's regime. In the 2021 assembly elections, the BJP successfully formed the government in Bengal for the third time, giving a tough challenge to Mamata Banerjee's government, even as the number of BJP MLAs increased from 3 to 70 in the 2019 assembly elections. After winning in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and TMC claimed to have stopped BJP's victory in Bengal. After West Bengal Assembly Election 2021, Asansol Lok Sabha by-election was held in West Bengal. Apart from this, assembly elections were held for some constituencies including Ballygange. The Trinamool Congress won all the elections except the Sagartiki assembly by-election. Mamata Banerjee's flag was hoisted in Bengal even in panchayat elections and municipal elections, although BJP's vote share increased. Abhishek Banerjee's credibility is at stake in the nine constituencies in West Bengal where the next and final phase of polling will take place. Among them is the Diamond Harbor Lok Sabha constituency. Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Mamata Banerjee and national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress, is contesting with him. The seat has been held by the Trinamool Congress since 2009. Abhishek Banerjee has been winning in this constituency since 2014 and this time he is going for a hat-trick at the third spot. BJP has fielded Babi Kumar Das as its candidate against him. This seat is considered as a premium seat. In Mamata's stronghold of South Kolkata, the seventh phase of polling is similar. Mamata Banerjee owns a house in the South Kolkata seat. Mamata Banerjee herself has been the MP from this constituency for 6 times and TMC candidates have won the last 9 elections. Mamata Banerjee has been elected as the MLA for the third time and sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bhavanipur assembly constituency under South Kolkata. This time Trinamool Congress has re-nominated MP Mala Roy for this constituency. Former Union Minister Devasree Chowdhury is in the fray on behalf of the BJP and Saira Cha Haleem on behalf of the Communist Party of India. This seat is also considered as the seat of honor of Mamata Banerjee. Similarly, Sudeep Banerjee has been the MP from the Kolkata North constituency since 2009 and the party has fielded him again. BJP has given ticket to Tabas Roy who joined BJP from Trinamool Congress against him. Similarly, TMC MP and former minister Chaudhry Mohan Jadua has been continuously elected MP from Mathurapur Lok Sabha constituency since 2009. This year in 2024, TMC fielded Babi Haldar as his replacement, while BJP fielded Ashok Burkait and CPI(M) fielded Dr Sarath Chandra Haldar. This constituency is also considered Trinamool's stronghold. Similarly, Saugata Roy, who has been the TMC MP from Dumdam Lok Sabha constituency since 2009, is the party's candidate again. BJP has fielded Sheelabhadra Dutta and CPI(M)'s Sujan Chakraborty against him. At the same time, the TMC has held the Lok Sabha seat since 1998. TMC leader Kaguly Koshdastidar has been winning from this constituency since 2009 and again the party fielded him as its candidate. Swaban Majumdar has contested on behalf of BJP and Sanjeev Chatterjee of Forward Block has contested against him. Trinamool Congress's Pratima Mandal has been winning the Jaynagar Lok Sabha seat since 2014. The party has re-nominated him. Ashok Gandhari of BJP and Samarendra Nath Mandal of RSP have been fielded against him. The BJP has made Sandeshkali an issue, while the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat has been held by the Trinamool Congress since 2009. However, Sandeshkali assembly constituency under Pasirhat Lok Sabha constituency has grabbed the headlines this year. Several TMC leaders, including former TMC chief Sheikh Shahjahan, were arrested after allegations of harassment of women and forcible land grabbing and assault on ED officials in Sandeshkali. In place of Nusrat Jahan, TMC has fielded MLA Haji Noorul Islam and BJP has fielded Sandeshkali victim Rekha Patra. Sandeshkali has emerged as a major issue in this Lok Sabha election. In such a scenario, in the seventh phase, in more than two Lok Sabha elections, it is clear that the Trinamool Congress is in control of all nine constituencies. The challenge for the BJP in this election is whether it can make inroads into the Trinamool Congress stronghold. However, Prime Minister Modi had said in Kolkata that Trinamool is currently fighting for its survival in Bengal. The people of Bengal took us from 3 to 80 in the last assembly elections. This time also from West Bengal BJP will get huge victory across the country. The 2024 election is different from previous elections, while Trinamool chief Kunal Ghosh quipped that such things happened even when your bar crossed 200, while reminding BJP's target of 200 seats in the assembly elections. The year is 2021. They are misleading people. He says there will be no return of BJP rule at the centre. State Congress President Adhir Choudhary said that the Prime Minister makes such speeches whenever the polls are held. There is no reason to be affected by this. After 2021 elections, BJP is finished here,” said the state secretary of the Communist Party of India, Mohammad Saleem. This time, BJP will have a bad performance in Bengal. Political talks are going on regarding the elections. Whatever happens, says political analyst Partha Mukhopadhyay. This time the Bengal election is different. Unlike previous elections, there were no incidents of violence in this election. No political party has been accused of electoral malpractice or violence, and voter turnout is high compared to other states in the country. If the votes are registered, the result will be known. Silent Rebellion or Mamata's Support? This will become clear after the election results, which will have to wait till June 4.