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Why is Mamata batting for NDA presidential pick Murmu? Bengal CM says her ‘chances are higher’

A day after the Trinamool chief’s remarks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday that the NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu could become a ‘unifying factor’ for parties.

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Kolkata: A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that opposition parties might have considered backing the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s presidential pick Droupadi Murmu had her name been discussed with them earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday that Murmu’s candidacy could bring together all parties.

Addressing the national executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Hyderabad Sunday, Modi, without naming Mamata, said that the NDA’s presidential candidate could become a “unifying factor” for parties, according to sources present in the meeting. The PM said this in the context of some opposition parties supporting Murmu’s candidature.

The PM spoke about Murmu’s humble beginnings and how she has worked for the upliftment of society. If elected, she will be the first tribal woman to become President. 

The NDA’s decision to pick a member of the tribal community as its contender has been seen as a masterstroke by the Modi government. Murmu’s candidature has since been openly supported by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), apart from the BJP’s allies.

On Friday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief told reporters that had the NDA shared Murmu’s name as contender earlier with opposition parties, the same would have been “discussed” by them. 

“They didn’t discuss with us, they asked us for our suggestion. Had they told us the name, we would have discussed it in the Opposition meeting. We know Droupadi Murmu’s chances are higher after the developments in Maharashtra, but I stand by the united Opposition’s decision,” she added.

This response is significant at a time when Mamata seems keen on denting the BJP’s tribal support in Bengal, which played a key role in the party’s success in the state during the 2019 general elections — when it secured its highest ever tally of 18 seats there.

It was she who had written to several opposition parties across the country earlier this month, asking them to attend a 15 June meeting in New Delhi to decide on a common candidate for the upcoming Presidential polls. Ultimately, former Union minister Yashwant Sinha emerged as the consensus presidential candidate of 13 opposition parties, including the Congress. He resigned from the TMC shortly before opposition parties met to declare his candidature.

BJP MP from Darjeeling Raju Bista claimed Mamata’s “anti-adivasi stand now stands exposed”. 

“Droupadi Murmi will be the first tribal woman President of our country. But she (Mamata) along with the Opposition decided to go against it. It doesn’t matter when the name was announced. Be it Dalits, tribals or Gorkhas, Mamata Banerjee has neglected them and done very little for their development. I wouldn’t want to comment on whether the Opposition should have withdrawn their candidate. That’s their dharma to oppose and that’s what they’ve been doing,” he told ThePrint.


Also Read: ‘Blatant lies’: Mamata writes to PM after Nadda says Bengal didn’t give account of MGNREGA funds


Mamata’s tribal push

Just last year, when state assembly elections took place in West Bengal, Mamata had regained lost Hindu, tribal and Dalit ground in the state, that together make up at least 240 assembly segments. 

West Bengal has 66 reserved seats for Scheduled Castes (SC), who make for roughly a quarter of the state’s total population, while 16 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), who form around six per cent of the state’s population. According to the 2011 census, West Bengal’s ST population stood at 5.29 million

BJP’s West Bengal success story during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was largely because of the support it got from Hindus, SC, ST, Hindu Dalits and Namsudra voters. The BJP, through its tribal morchas and help from RSS shakhas, had secured the trust of these communities, a votebank the Trinamool hadn’t considered very seriously till political strategist Prashant Kishor stepped in, that same year. 

But off late, Mamata has again been trying to drum up tribal support, especially in the Jangalmahal area of West Bengal, spread across the districts of Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram and West Midnapore. This South Bengal region is where the BJP made big gains in 2019. 

In Purulia, the TMC won three seats out of a total nine seats while the BJP secured six. In adjoining Bankura, the BJP won seven of 12 seats last year. While TMC won Jhargram and regained lost ground in West Midnapore by winning 13 seats, BJP won only two seats of Kharagpur Sadar and Ghatal, but the victory margin in Ghatal for the BJP was 0.43 per cent.

Eyeing a national role and the opportunity to take on the BJP in 2024, at least in West Bengal, Mamata has over the past few years gone the extra mile to build strong ties with the state’s tribal population — be it the setting up of a tribal development department, organising special camps to issue caste certificates or even transferring her officers after receiving complaints from STs at her administrative meeting in Purulia last month. 

The Santhals, Lodhas and Kurmis all have been given separate development boards. Be it universities for STs and SCs, a polytechnic college or roads, the Bengal CM has prioritised the work for these communities knowing that their support is integral. 

Political analyst and author of Gangster State: The Rise and Fall of the CPI(M) in West Bengal, Sourjya Bhowmick, told ThePrint: “Looks like Mamata Banerjee is trying to preempt this move of BJP to pick Droupadi Murmu as its candidate, which will surely have an influence on the tribals in the country as well as West Bengal, where they are already strong and where Mamata Banerjee has managed to gain back a little (ground) in 2021 elections.” 

He further said that Mamata’s comment can be seen as “indirect support”. “But it’s a little late as the people already know that she is the one who organised the Opposition meet to pitch Yashwant Sinha as a candidate against Murmu.”

Meanwhile, political analyst Udayan Bandhopadhyay, who is also an associate professor of political science at Kolkata’s Bangabashi College, told ThePrint: “Mamata Banerjee hasn’t supported Droupadi Murmu, she only said that they could have thought over it earlier. The onus is on the BJP because they did not mention her name before Yashwant Sinha’s candidature.” 

He further said: “Mamata has reiterated she stands by the Opposition candidate. But she has expressed her soft corner for Murmu because she is a woman and belongs to the tribal community. The same sentiment was also expressed by Sitaram Yechury as well. If you see West Bengal, the tribals presently are with TMC. They had opted for BJP briefly in 2019, but I doubt this Presidential election will have any direct impact on the tribal voting pattern.”

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)


Also Read: As AAP’s Kejriwal eyes bigger role, TMC says ‘Mamata has no national aspirations’ after Goa loss


 

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