Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 23: If “Bangladeshi infiltration” narrative raked up by the BJP failed to create any impact in Jharkhand, the total tout of the INDIA block members in Maharashtra is certain to once again raise the question on the ability of the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to win the elections, particularly to stand face-to-face against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The victory of the JMM-led coalition in Jharkhand on Saturday failed to elevate the mood in the Congress, given the Maharashtra shocker, the results of which are bound to have a deep impact on the INDIA camp and raise the question whether the Congress deadweight sunk the entire Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition ship.
Unlike in most other states, Maharashtra Congress has an aggressive and robust organisation which is why the Congress leaders in the state would arm-twist and insist on more seats for the party. Not just that, in anticipation of forming the government, there have been demands from Congress that they should be the ones to sit on the chief minister’s chair. This ended up irking its Maha Vikas Aghadi allies who felt that it was important to remain focussed.
The fight for the CM’s chair is believed to be one of the reasons which could have cost them the elections as the cadre was caught up in their fight. As the post mortem begins, the anger and dismay of the allies may spill on to the Congress.
Many of the points raised by the Congress did not find traction with the voters but, more than this, its allies like Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray had warned the top leaders of the Grand Old Party. For instance, Rahul Gandhi’s attacks on Veer Savarkar ended up hurting the Uddhav Sena and NCP. Gandhi was forced to back off but the damage was done as the BJP used the issue to attack MVA.
Also, Pawar was never comfortable with the idea of constant attacks on Adani and this created differences. The schism could become wider now. Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress have been upset with the Congress for long and these results may create a divide within the INDIA bloc, with many accusing the Congress of being a bad alliance partner.
Post the Lok Sabha results, Gandhi was all fire in Parliament and, in fact, buoyed by the results, he had agreed to become LOP to emerge as an alternative to the Modi factor. The Winter Session has plenty of his favourite topics to take up like Adani, Manipur, and Waqf Board. But the Maharashtra rout may keep the INDIA bloc divided and may no longer be interested in backing Rahul Gandhi on his pet topics.
But in Jharkhand, the BJP has suffered its worst rout in the tribal-dominated Santhal Pargana where its narrative of “Bangladeshi infiltrators” was expected to hit the most. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led India bloc totally swept the region winning 17 of the 18 seats, four more than in 2019, in the tribal region leaving just one to the BJP.
Located in the north-eastern part of the State, many of the region’s seats border West Bengal. The INDIA bloc also secured about 52% of the votes in the region — its highest vote share across all regions in this election — marking an increase of over 12 percentage points compared to 2019.
The issue of “Bangladeshi infiltrators” in the Santhal Pargana” was raked up by the BJP in its campaign for the state Assembly elections linking it to alleged “demographic changes” in the region, crimes against tribal women, land alienation, and the perceived erosion of indigenous cultural practices. The BJP’s top leadership also repeatedly called for “protecting tribal identity” in the face of Bangladeshi infiltrators accusing the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance of enabling “infiltration” to secure their voter base. This narrative was paired with efforts to unite SC/ST/OBC groups under the slogan “Ek Hain to Safe Hain,” aiming to disrupt the INDIA bloc’s long-standing coalition of Muslims and Adivasis.
The JMM countered this narrative on three fronts: holding the BJP-led Union government responsible for controlling infiltration; branding BJP star campaigners as “outsiders” unable to prevent atrocities against tribals in their own states; and citing BJP MPs’ suggestions to carve out Santhal Pargana from Jharkhand as evidence that the BJP sought to “break” the state.
