DEBRA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday raised the issue of Bengal identity and reinforced the TMC's long-standing political narrative of Bengal versus Delhi.
At the heart of Banerjee's attack was the allegation that the Centre and the Election Commission were working in tandem to weaken the state government and manipulate the electoral process.
"The landlords of Delhi have taken away all powers from my hands," she said, using a phrase aimed at reinforcing the TMC's long-standing political narrative of Bengal versus Delhi.
Banerjee repeatedly accused the BJP of being "anti-Bengal" and sought to convert resentment over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls into a political issue.
Addressing a rally at Debra in Paschim Medinipur, a politically significant belt where the BJP had made deep inroads in 2021 before the TMC clawed back ground in the Lok Sabha polls, Banerjee framed the election not merely as a contest for power in Bengal, but as a fight against what she described as the BJP's attempt to control the state politically, culturally and electorally.
"After winning in West Bengal, we will unite everyone across the country to capture Delhi," the TMC supremo said, in remarks that underlined her effort to position herself as one of the principal anti-BJP voices nationally even while fighting a high-stakes battle at home.
She also raised the issue of deletion of names in SIR of electoral rolls and the TMC's national ambitions during her poll campaign.
"You have made people stand in queues. You have humiliated them. The people will take revenge for this humiliation through the ballot box," she said, in a line clearly aimed at turning alleged voter-list irregularities into a wider anti-BJP sentiment among ordinary voters.
With the opposition and the ruling party locked in a bitter fight over alleged deletion of names from the voters' list, Banerjee claimed that lakhs of genuine voters, particularly women and "Bengali-speaking people", had been removed.
"Many names have been deleted. Check online and apply. I will ask (Debra TMC nominee) Rajib Banerjee to look into it. We will provide lawyers," she said.
"There are still 60 lakh names under logistical discrepancies. Even if 50 per cent of those names have been restored, the credit goes to our legal battle. I myself went to the Supreme Court and fought," the CM added.
She alleged that BJP leaders had spoken about the deletions even before the EC.
By foregrounding the issue, the TMC appeared to be attempting two political calculations -- energising its traditional minority and Bengali-speaking support base, while also reaching out to women voters, a constituency that has repeatedly backed Banerjee.
"They are anti-women. Most of the deleted names are of mothers and sisters," she said, claiming that women faced difficulties during the revision process due to the change of surnames after marriage.
She also attempted to stitch together the TMC's social coalition across caste, religion and community lines at a time when the BJP is trying to expand its base among sections of SC, ST and OBCs in south Bengal.
"Just as everyone fights for our tribal candidates, we must fight for Hindu candidates, and where there are Muslim candidates, we must fight for them too. Because we are the ones who will form the government," she said.
The formulation reflected the TMC's effort to blunt the BJP's polarisation strategy by projecting itself as the umbrella party of all communities.
The choice of Debra was politically significant.
Located in Paschim Medinipur, a district where the BJP had emerged as a formidable force in the last assembly election, the region has since seen a fierce battle for tribal, rural and lower-middle-class voters.
The TMC chief also attempted to turn the BJP's emphasis on food habits and cultural nationalism into an emotive election issue.
"Why are they so obsessed with Bengal's food? They tell people not to eat fish, not to eat meat, and not to eat eggs.
What do they want people to eat?" she said.
The attack was aimed at reviving one of the TMC's familiar campaign themes that the BJP seeks to impose a north Indian, Hindi-Hindu cultural template on Bengal.
"If you go outside West Bengal and speak in Bengali, you may not be allowed to stay in a hotel. You may be attacked or even beaten to death. Wherever the BJP is in power, they do not allow fish to be eaten. Fish and meat shops are shut," she claimed.
The CM sharpened her attack on the saffron party over religion, accusing it of commercialising faith.
"They talk in the name of religion but mislead religion itself. They do not believe in any religion. We keep religion at home and respect it. They trade in religion, while we believe in humanity," she said.
She charged the BJP of disrespecting Bengal's icons -- Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Raja Rammohan Roy and Khudiram Bose.
"Vidyasagar's statue was broken during Amit Shah's rally (in 2019).
They don't respect icons of Bengal, and don't know our culture and heritage.
Where was the BJP during the freedom struggle? Did it even exist?" Banerjee asked.
(With inputs from PTI)