Will Bihar’s win set the stage for Bengal?

Bihar’s stunning victory will undoubtedly motivate Narendra Modi and BJP to conquer West Bengal. The Ganjes certainly flows from Bihar to West Bengal. Bihar’s victory will certainly excite the Bengal BJP as well. It will definitely cause an adrenaline rush for them; just as it did for Modi. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the impact of the Bihar victory will flow through Bengal in the same way, like the Ganges. Suvendu Adhikari, due to his uncompromising anti-TMC stance and tremendous hard work, may become the chief minister face; however, his success will hinge on multiple factors.

Will BJP project Suvendu Adhikari as the face?

Brushing asides controversies over the widespread rumor that Suvendu may go back to TMC, lets focus on the contemporary perspective.

First, whether Suvendu Adhikari is widely acceptable in the Bengal BJP.  Adhikari is a floor-crosser and came from TMC. Hence, a fraction of old BJP takes him with a pinch of salt. In spite of his formidable dedication, he fails to earn full support across all segments of Bengal BJP. The assault on him has notably failed to provoke a strong reaction or visible excitement from the Bengal BJP. Rather, they refrain from strident criticism or protests.

Hindu Consolidation of Bengal BJP

Second, his stance of consolidation of Hindus does not get a foothold in the State President’s line. In contrast, Shamik Bhattachrya, the Bengal BJP president, vouches for inclusivity irrespective of religion. Consequently, the supporters and grassroot level party cadres get more confused. The state leaders frequently fail to provide support when TMC goons push back members with rampant attacks or social harassment. Indeed, Suvendu Adhikari tries his best to reach every corner, but his lone effort doesn’t suffice.

Image of Suvendu Adhikari

Third, Does Suvendu Adhikari carry a clean image? But, Mamata Banerjee had a clean image when she made a clarion call to thwart CPM regime. Besides the controversial Narada scam, Suvendu was the key architect to break rival parties and absorb their members during TMC regime. He took out all his cards to achieve his goal by using persuasion, incentives, pressure, or division.

Later on, even the involvement of Adhikari family in such as the notorious Nandigram genocide has come on the broad day light. Additionally Mamata Banerjee shifted all the blames to Suvendu. Above all, that Nandigram episode played the anchor role against the-then chief minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharya. Hence, the acceptability of Suvendu Adhikary as the Chief Minister remains in question.

BJP’s stance

Moreover, we need to look at the BJP’s stand in today’s politics. They don’t project anyone as the Chief Minister face in the pre-electoral campaigns. They select the Chief Minister after the election. Even the most charismatic leader Shivraj Singh Chowhan had to leave his post in spite of his unprecedented efforts and success. Thus, no reason is visible to deviate from their key principles in case of Bengal.

Above all, BJP prefers the RSS-recommended candidates for the prestigious position of chief minister. In general, they don’t typically offer the chief ministerial roles to the turncoat politicians.  Though, there are exceptions such as Hemant Biswasharma, but exception proves the rule. If we turn to Maharashtra, we can notice Eknath Sindhe had a short-term tenure as Chief Minister, before the assembly election of the state. Nevertheless, Sindhe had to leave the room for Devendra Fadnavis immediately after the election. Notably, BJP has not been able to apply the Eknath Sindhe Model in West Bengal.

In conclusion, we hardly think that the central BJP will project Suvendu Adhikari as the Chief Ministerial candidate in the recent future.