KOLKATA: BJP’s plan to highlight pollbound West Bengal’s ‘deteriorating’ law and order issue in its campaign ahead of 2021 Assembly elections has received a jolt in the wake of the Hathras incident, said party sources.
The ruling Trinamool Congress already sharpened attack on the BJP over the law and order situation and women’s safety in the saffron party-ruled Uttar Pradesh.
The party’s new initiative titled ‘Uma’ to portray the crime against women scenario in Bengal has also been hit after the alleged gangrape and murder of a Dalit woman in UP and the way local administration allegedly set the body ablaze without her family’s consent.
‘’In the meeting with the national leadership on October 1 in Delhi, party president JP Nadda directed us to highlight the issues related to state’s affairs, instead of talking much about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens. We have been asked to portray issues like corruption among the ruling party functionaries, Bengal’s deteriorating law and order situation and barring central of schemes for the poor,” said a senior BJP leader.
“However, the UP incident has become the talk of the nation. Before attacking Mamata Banerjee’s government on law and order issue, we will have to wait till the people’s sentiment calms down,’’ he added.
"We don’t know how much damage the Hathras incident will cause to our Dalit vote bank. It will be clear only after the polls,’’ said another BJP leader.
Playing the Dalit card to woo the backward class electorates in the state who are the deciding factor in 84 out of 294 assembly seats in Bengal, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee took out a march in Kolkata on Saturday protesting the Hathras incident.
She also announced her party would continue staging protests for the next week across the state.
TMC campaign to target BJP over rapes
The Trinamool Congress has launched a massive digital campaign to highlight atrocities against under the
rule of Adityanath-led UP government as well as the Centre.
Using #BJPHataoBetiBachao, the TMC will be targeting the BJP governments over their apathy and disregard in terms of rising crimes against women including four cases of rape recorded in UP in 24 hours.