Baby Chakraborty, KalimNews, November 23, 2024, Kolkata : In a resounding show of political dominance, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has triumphed in the by-elections to six assembly seats across West Bengal, sweeping all contests and securing significant victories, including wresting the Madarihat seat from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Despite intense opposition protests sparked by the tragic RG Kar Hospital incident, the results of the bypolls have firmly reaffirmed Mamata Banerjee’s unshakable grip on the state’s political landscape.
The RG Kar Incident: A Storm That Didn’t Stir the Vote
The RG Kar movement, ignited by the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run hospital in August, initially sent shockwaves through West Bengal, drawing widespread protests, particularly in Kolkata. This incident, which had the potential to escalate into a major political crisis, became a rallying cry for the opposition, which saw an opportunity to challenge Mamata Banerjee’s rule. However, the opposition’s hopes were quickly dashed as the by-election results revealed a stark contrast to their expectations.
Political observers had speculated that the RG Kar protests would erode public trust in the TMC, especially in urban areas like Kolkata, where the protests were most intense. Some even believed that the TMC’s control over the state was in jeopardy. However, as the results came in, it became clear that these predictions were wide of the mark. TMC not only retained all six seats, but also improved its vote margins significantly, with some constituencies seeing a surge of over 50,000 votes.
TMC’s victory in these by-elections was nothing short of a political masterstroke. Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s general secretary, took to social media to celebrate the decisive victories, slamming the opposition for attempting to destabilize Bengal with “fake narratives” and accusing them of being part of a “conspiracy of the Left and BJP.” “We have triumphed over the narratives created by the Zamindars, the media, and a section of the Kol HC,” he said, referring to the opposition’s attempts to portray Bengal in a negative light.
The success of the TMC, particularly in Madarihat—a seat that had been held by the BJP since 2021—marks a significant political shift in the state. Madarihat, a key seat in the tea garden belt of North Bengal, had been considered a stronghold of the BJP. However, TMC’s Jayprakash Toppo won the seat with a commanding margin of 28,168 votes, a clear indication that the opposition’s narrative of discontent had failed to resonate beyond urban centers.
One of the key takeaways from the bypoll results is that while the RG Kar incident sparked intense urban protests, it did not translate into a groundswell of support for the opposition in the rural heartlands of Bengal. The protests, while widespread in Kolkata and other urban areas, remained largely urban-centric and did not extend into the rural constituencies that form the backbone of Mamata Banerjee’s support base.
Political analysts argue that the movement, though spontaneous, was unable to break the TMC’s stronghold in the rural and tribal areas. The opposition’s inability to mobilize effectively beyond Kolkata meant that their protests failed to gain traction in Bengal’s vast countryside, where Mamata’s development-oriented agenda has maintained significant support. As a result, the TMC’s vote share surged across the state, while the BJP, Left Front, and Congress struggled to make a dent.
Despite their best efforts, the Left Front, the BJP, and other opposition parties were left reeling from the bypoll results. The Left, which had hoped to capitalize on the RG Kar protests to revive its fortunes, was dealt a crushing blow, losing deposits in both Sitai and Madarihat. The CPI(M) and its allies, including the CPI(ML) and the All India Secular Front (ISF), failed to make any meaningful gains, while the Congress, which contested the by-elections independently for the first time since 2021, fared no better, also losing deposits in all six constituencies.
The BJP, in particular, saw a dramatic decline in its fortunes. While the party had hoped to build on its 2021 gains, it suffered substantial setbacks in multiple constituencies. In Haroa, where the minority community constitutes a significant portion of the electorate, the BJP came a distant third and failed to retain its deposit. Meanwhile, its candidate in Madarihat, Rahul Lohar, was trounced by TMC’s Toppo, who secured a margin of over 28,000 votes.
The by-election results highlighted TMC’s growing dominance in both urban and rural Bengal. In Naihati, TMC’s Sanat Dey won with 78,772 votes, defeating the BJP’s Rupak Mitra by a margin of 49,277 votes. In Medinipur, Sujoy Hazra secured 115,104 votes, winning by a margin of 33,996 votes. In Taldangra, Falguni Singhababu triumphed with 98,926 votes, defeating BJP’s Ananya Roy Chakraborty by a margin of 34,082 votes. In Sitai (SC), Sangita Roy’s victory margin was a staggering 1,30,636 votes, with TMC’s vote share soaring to 76%.
The TMC’s vote share in Madarihat surged to 54.05%, while the BJP’s share dropped to 34%. In Haroa, TMC maintained a commanding lead, securing 76.63% of the vote share, underlining its continued dominance in South Bengal, particularly among the minority community.
The results of the by-elections have sent a strong message: Mamata Banerjee remains the unchallenged leader of West Bengal. Despite the protests surrounding the RG Kar incident and the attempts by the opposition to capitalize on the situation, the TMC’s victories reflect a broader trend of continued trust in Mamata’s leadership. As the TMC consolidates its position in the state assembly with a total of 216 seats, it is clear that Mamata Banerjee’s grip on power is as strong as ever.
For the opposition, the results signal a period of introspection and a need to reassess their strategies if they hope to challenge the TMC’s dominance in the future. The RG Kar protests, while significant, have not had the desired impact at the ballot box, leaving the opposition with little more than a deflated narrative and a series of electoral defeats.