STENCH & SMOKE
that the state was devoid of such staunch supporters of Hinduism .” Indeed , the BJP has been playing up Bengal ’ s significant role in the development of Hindu nationalism , unfailingly naming Bengali religious icons , from Sri Ramakrishna to Swami Vivekananda in each election rally , not to mention Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee . “ The BJP is targeting the lower castes in rural areas , where panchayat polls will take place in May . This group is vulnerable to tall promises . They are being told that they have been suppressed for years and the time has come for them to feel empowered . But BJP is not telling them that they have been oppressed by upper castes . They are telling them that Muslims are their competitors . The reality is that Muslims are as downtrodden as them . Mamata Banerjee cares for both equally ,” says Trinamool leader Rezzak Mollah . “ It is a fallacy to think that the BJP does not have followers in Bengal ,” says Sanghamitra Choudhury , a BJP wor ker . Other than Hindu Bengalis , she says , the BJP ’ s support base comprises the Marwari community and even a large section of the Bengali youth , who clutch on to its development agenda . “ The surge in our voteshare with every election is indication that we have gained a foothold .. and are marching forward towards our goal of capturing power ,” insists Dilip Ghosh , state BJP President .
CHAKRABORTY , however , points out that the growing voteshare reflects only areas with higher concentrations of “ religious-minded ” Hindus , which does not translate into seats . “ Unless it gains the Muslim vote , which will be impossible for the BJP , it will never be able to compete with Mamata .”
Not that the BJP has not realised this . Since 2014 , the BJP has devised strategies to try to win over Bengal ’ s Muslims . From fielding candidates from the community in the 2016 assembly elections to indu cting former TMC strongman Mukul Roy , known for his connect with the community into its fold , it has tried all . Still , the Mus lim vote has been elusive . The party ’ s only hope is to consolidate the Hindu vote . With the panchayat elections scheduled for the first week of
36 OUTLOOK 16 April 2018
BJP has tried to woo Bengal ’ s Muslims — fielding them in the 2016 polls and inducting Mukul Roy , who is close to them .
May , the aggressive Hindutva celebrations in Bengal is striving for exactly that .
While Trinamool leader and Panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee called such attempts “ a futile endeavour which will be rejected by the people ”, a spate of pre-nomination violence related to the panchayat polls points to the TMC ’ s leaving nothing to chance . News cameras have shown BJP and other parties ’ candidates purportedly being dragged out of DMs ’ offices , beaten up , kicked , punched and slapped by alleged TMC goons . The BJP cried that not a single nomination could be filed , a charge helped along by Trinamool leader Suvendu Adhikari ’ s impolitic comment that they are aiming for an “ opposition-free ” panchayat polls . The comment has sent shock waves through political opposition .
Is this an indication that the TMC is worried by the BJP ? The riots in Ran i - ganj and Asansol , in effect , allow the TMC to consolidate its position further , both among its suppor ters and sceptics . The TMC would cynically use the riots to whip the BJP , telling voters that if it gains ground in Bengal , there will be many more such communal incidents , says a political analyst . “ Trinamool is trying to get the attention of Hindus but at the same time it is trying to put the onus of the recent disturbances on anything other than the inadequate handling of law and order by her administration ,” says BJP leader Chandra Kumar Bose .
SANS SWORDS A Ram Navami procession by TMC supporters
GETTY IMAGES
That Trinamool is not completely confident that people would reject such Hindu religious feeli ngs whipped up by the BJP is evident from the gusto with which the party itself celebrated Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti . Ostentatious para des , unseen earlier , were patronised by even party leaders and ministers .
The result on the ground is the inevitable communal chasm between the two communities . In Raniganj and Asansol , ground zero of the recent communal clashes , raw emotions spill out openly . M . D . Taj , whose three-storey shoe store was burned to ashes , says , as tears roll down his sunken cheeks : “ The Hindus may have lived with us for all these years but inside their hearts and minds they must have always hated us . Now we see that the ‘ bhai-bhai ’ feelings have been a sham .”
But many , such as a group of shopowners in Raniganj market , try to pacify those like Taj . “ Look , there are bad people in each community ,” says a shop owner . “ Those who did what they did are thugs . There are hundreds of examples of each community coming to the rescue of the other . I was saved by a Hindu household myself .”
China , too , refuses to blame anyone . Then , she looks up in dismay . The roof has caved in , revealing the long branches of an ancient banyan tree , which has thus far spread a canopy over hundreds of Hindu and Muslim families who lived cheek by jowl under its shade , as inseparably connected branches of the same larger community . O