Narendra Modi's decision to rally in West Bengal during polling is smart strategy, shows he knows BJP is weak in state

It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held two massive rallies in West Bengal — in Srirampur and Barrackpore — when Phase 4 of the Lok Sabha election was underway in other parts of the state on Monday. In the age of 24x7 electronic media and social media, where breaking news is instantly disseminated, it must have been part of a smart strategy on his part to pull the state’s attention away from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s politics. Modi landed in Bengal when the election in the state was already making news for violence at polling booths . There were reports of incidents of BJP poll agents not being allowed by the Trinamool Congress workers to enter their designated booths. There were also reports of sections of genuine voters not being allowed to cast their votes in some areas and of TMC workers allegedly vandalising BJP sitting MP and Union minister Babul Supriyo’s car. [caption id=“attachment_1499461” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mamata Banerjee and Narendra Modi. AFP[/caption] While addressing the rally, Modi turned the heat on Mamata. This was his first rally in West Bengal after the chief minister said she would send him mud- and stone-filled rosogullas. She had made the remark in response to Modi revealing in an interview to actor Akshay Kumar that the Trinamool boss sent him specially-selected kurtas  and boxes of famed Bengali sweets. Modi went on at length about Mamata’s statement at the rally. “She is so angry that she is saying she will send me rosogullas filled with Bengal’s soil. What a fortune I have. Bengal’s soil means the footprints of Ram Krishna Paramahans, Swami Vivekananda, Chaitnaya Mahaprabhu, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and others. I will be blessed to get that. She is also saying that the sweets will be filled with 50 hundred stones, stones that would have otherwise been used by goons. By sending those stones to me, she will save people from head injuries.” Mamata’s response to this statement is keenly awaited. But what the TMC took immediate objection to was Modi’s statement that 40 TMC legislators were in touch with the BJP and a large-scale desertion of the TMC was in the offing, soon after results of the parliamentary election are declared on 23 May. The Bengal ruling party saw this as open provocation for defection. Although Mamata, on her own, has not expressed her prime ministerial ambitions, her party leaders have publicly talked about it on various forums. Modi took a dig at that, as well. In the last parliamentary election, Mamata’s TMC, despite being a regional party, had fewer numbers than the Congress in Lok Sabha, Modi pointed out. In these elections, Mamata should not expect a leader from her party to win any of the 42 seats from West Bengal as this time, the BJP has made strong inroads in the state, he added. “Didi, Delhi is a long way from here. Should I tell you what is really inside Didi’s heart. Delhi is just an excuse. What she really wants is to establish her nephew here," Modi claimed. Mamata’s nephew and Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal Abhishek Banerjee has been making news in the state as her perceived successor in politics and leadership role in the party. Furthermore, Modi also used news about the days violence during polling to build a narrative against Mamata, accusing her of “crossing all limits” by unleashing her party’s “goons” against BJP workers and voters. The prime minister is aware that his party’s organisational strength is weak in West Bengal, and most of his leaders may not be perceived as strong. This would explain his rallying in the state during polling in its other parts. He also warned Mamata’s alleged associates that after results of the election are declared, she would not be able to shield culprits in the chit fund cases.