MLA Tapasi Mondal is clearly a happening party hopper. She jumped ship ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections in West Bengal, from CPM to BJP. And now, ahead of 2026, she’s made a second jump, from BJP to TMC. But why so much hullaballoo over the 53-year-old’s five-year plan? After 2021, when TMC MLAs streamed into the BJP only to return in dribs and drabs, Bengal should have realised that the ‘aya ram gaya ram’ politics of yore in north India has put down deep roots here too. What West Bengal should now be bracing for is the next import from the north: brazen communal politics.
The aftermath of Tapasi Mondal’s party switch—which she blamed on the BJP’s “divisive agenda”—saw a spate of communally charged comments from Suvendu Adhikari, the BJP’s spearhead against TMC. So much so that Mamata Banerjee made an unscheduled stop at the state Assembly to remind him about the Constitution and the majority’s duty to protect the minority. But her lieutenants responded to Adhikari in kind—and may just have let the genie of communal politics out of the bottle.
Sample this.
Earlier this week, Adhikari thundered that when the BJP came to power in 2026, it would throw TMC’s Muslim MLAs out on the road. He later added: “Next year, only Muslims will win on TMC tickets, TMC will have no Hindu MLAs… When BJP forms government, TMC MLAs will be thrown out of the House.”
The response from TMC MLAs was far from tempered. Minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury threatened to “break legs” and take legal action, saying, “Such a comment has never been thought of, discussed, or uttered in Bengal in the past.” Humayun Kabir issued an ultimatum to Adhikari. “As a Muslim MLA, I am challenging you: if in 72 hours you do not withdraw your words, our 42 (Muslim) MLAs will confront you… and bujhe nebo.” In Bengali, bujhe nebo translates to “settle scores.” It was one of the more polite threats Kabir issued.
It’s not as if communally laced barbs have not been exchanged by the rival parties before. Mamata Banerjee has long been accused by the BJP of minority appeasement to lock in a 30+ per cent vote bank. She, in turn, has accused the BJP of trying to import Hindutva politics into Bengal. But the voices are now growing shriller, and threats of a fightback from both sides are jeopardising the uneasy status quo.
Also Read: JU has always been a political bellwether. Bratya Basu incident could cost Mamata
Adhikari’s crumbling fortress
The BJP’s prized acquisition of 2021, Suvendu Adhikari, is under pressure. In that election, the BJP raised its MLA tally in West Bengal to a very respectable 77 out of 294. But since then, the number has slipped to 65. Tapasi Mondal is the ninth MLA to jump ship to the TMC. What makes her exit especially painful for Adhikari is that he was the one who recruited her from the CPM. That her seat, Haldia, is right next to his, Nandigram, in the East Medinipur district he claims as his fortress, adds salt to the injury.
No room for divisive politics in Bengal!
Taking a strong stand against BJP’s politics of division, Haldia MLA Smt. Tapasi Mondal has joined the Trinamool Congress.
We welcome her in our fight against the Bangla-Birodhi BJP! pic.twitter.com/vfxLDbzwdy
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) March 10, 2025
And there is no escaping the apprehension that Mondal may be the first of many more such exits as the elections draw near—a reversal of 2021, when TMC MLAs made a beeline for the BJP in droves. Many have already rejoined TM C. Others are in queue to do so. TMC claims not just MLAs but MPs are keen on switching camps.
All this is not good news for the BJP or for Adhikari, particularly at a time when he has been trying to make it to the post of state BJP president. It was a long shot, as the RSS prefers someone from within its ranks, and by that yardstick, Adhikari is a Johnny-come-lately. Even Amit Shah has not been able to help him, sources say, as the fractious race for the top job heats up, with an announcement expected next week.
Also Read: Bengal’s bhadralok shut out Dalit literature for decades. The monopoly is now cracking
Mamata’s Hindu card
It’s not as if Mamata Banerjee has nothing to worry about. She has signalled concern that the oft-repeated appeasement charge against her may stick and eat into her Hindu votes. Perhaps that’s why she has been increasingly stating—inside the state Assembly and outside—that she is a proud Hindu, a Brahmin who knows her scriptures.
Banerjee will also be inaugurating Bengal’s own Jagannath Temple at Digha in late April, a replica of the one in Puri that is a major draw for the state’s religious tourists. She announced this project in 2018. Its completion before the 2026 elections may not be a coincidence.
Adhikari’s latest bête noire has been handsomely rewarded. Banerjee has appointed Tapasi Mondal as the chairperson of the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare—sending a signal to other BJP fence-sitters that a red carpet may await them too. Though the BJP faced a rout in 2024, sinking from a tally of 18 MPs to 12, its vote percentage was at a respectable 38 per cent against TMC’s 46 per cent. As the communal rhetoric sharpens in the state, Banerjee is tying up loose ends that just might rain on her parade in 2026.
Monideepa Banerjie is a senior journalist based in Kolkata. She tweets @Monideepa62. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Let us for once dispel any coyness regarding politicians having any spiritual scruples. Ms Banerjee was screaming about muslim infiltration across the swiss cheese border between India and Bangladesh when she was a BJP ally. Now she is ready to “tolerate their tantrums as long as they give milk” (votes). Mr Adhikari couldn’t have enough of iftaars when he needed Muslim votes but now cannot tolerate the sight of Muslim MLAs. It’s plain and cynical politics. Personal religiosity holds no water under the bridge of political expediency. The apogee of Bengalee civilization is long over. Bengal is doomed. Now it’s just a matter of who will get to perform the last rites.