High decibel noises were made by turncoat of state BJP, Mukul Roy in particular, who is the handler of defections in West Bengal. It was confirmed by the PM Modi, who also claimed that 40 MLAs are ready to defect to BJP, soon after the electoral victory of the BJP. Well, the elections are over, BJP has won, but the much-expected defections are only in a trickle disappointing the Centre.
Mamata, guided by an experienced poll strategist, Prashant Kishor, has been making the right moves in the last few weeks, particularly in keeping her party’s fence-sitters in good humour. Today would be different, when Sovan Chattopadhyay, once a right-hand man of Mamata, a former Minister, an MLA and Mayor, accompanied by his friend Baisakhi, and another MLA Debashree Roy joining the BJP. Rumours abound of another ex-minister and a former heavyweight too planning to embrace the lotus shortly.
There is one strange thing which binds all the defectors, all of them are under investigation by the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate or some other central investigative agencies. Most of them are alleged to be involved in the chit fund scams and also in the later Narada sting. There have been no names that I can recall, of anyone from the TMC and without blemish joining the BJP.
The post-poll scenarios in West Bengal prove two things. One, the desperate need of BJP to consolidate their poll victories into a sustainable grassroots level, which they are finding difficult. “Jai Shri Ram,’ was an adventurous chant by the disgruntled youth of the state. The non-voters and blue-collared workers from the adjoining states may have shrilled the chant, but it was Mamata’s giving undue importance and made the chant shriller.
BJP, guided by the high ideals of the RSS, was earlier choosy in membership admissions until it remained restricted to the Hindi belt. There is severe damage to BJP’s image that it is becoming a refuge for every tainted leader of TMC. The strategy may be to disarm the defectors later and then to leave them in limbo, as and when the investigation agencies close in on their prosecution. Whichever way, BJP has lost its ‘holier-than-thou’ image jostling space with every criminal or shady element polluting the politics.
In electoral politics ‘victory’ matters, no matter how!
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
