Kejriwal challenge done and dusted, Mamata next in BJP crosshairs

“If the Delhi elections were a Waterloo for Kejriwal, our adjacent people is Mamata Banerjee,” said a elder BJP leader.

Echoing this claim, Union Minister and Bengal BJP main Sukanta Majumdar said, “Bengal is undoubtedly our adjacent target. Without defeating Mamata Banerjee, BJP’s occurrence would not beryllium complete. The imagination occurrence for Modi ji would travel erstwhile we decision Mamata Banerjee successful the Bengal Assembly elections adjacent year,” helium told The Indian Express.

Majumdar said the BJP has already started its enactment successful this respect astatine the section level successful Bengal. “In a fewer weeks our nationalist enactment volition besides embark connected the mission,” helium said.

BJP leaders accidental the Delhi people’s determination to “repose faith” successful Modi’s guarantees and a double-engine authorities reflected their “endorsement of the BJP’s payment authorities and its committedness of bully governance” which, they add, would springiness fillip to the party’s electioneering successful Bengal.

While the Opposition sees the AAP debacle arsenic a large setback to the anti-Modi front, the BJP campy says it would re-establish Modi’s “invincibility” successful nationalist politics. There are nevertheless immoderate apprehensions successful a BJP conception that the Opposition parties’ repeated defeats could unit them to reenforce their anti-BJP platform.

Since the opening of specified Opposition attempts for an anti-BJP grouping pursuing Modi’s emergence connected the nationalist scene, Kejriwal and Mamata had sought to equine a situation to the Prime Minister. Routing the BJP successful the Delhi Assembly elections doubly – successful 2015 and 2020 – Kejriwal besides fashioned himself arsenic an “alternative to Modi”.

After its debut successful the 2013 Delhi polls and the autumn of its 49-day government, Kejriwal had adjacent entered the 2014 Lok Sabha canvass fray from Varanasi to instrumentality connected Modi, albeit unsuccessfully.

Both Kejriwal and Mamata had besides been projected by a conception of the Opposition arsenic leaders who could instrumentality connected Modi.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) main and ex-Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao besides tried to presumption himself arsenic a look of the anti-BJP forces, but the BRS (formerly Telangana Rashtra Samithi) was defeated by the Congress successful the 2023 Assembly polls, which led to his enactment losing its relevance astatine the nationalist level.

Although Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was erstwhile seen arsenic a imaginable PM campaigner of the Opposition INDIA alliance, helium again switched his loyalties and crossed implicit to the BJP-led NDA successful January 2024, accepting Modi’s leadership.

BJD supremo and ex-Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik was besides seen arsenic a large determination player, who steered his enactment to triumph for 5 consecutive times since 2000, though his enactment was seen arsenic “friendly to the Modi dispensation”. In the 2024 Odisha polls, however, the BJP trounced the BJD, storming to powerfulness successful the authorities for the archetypal time.

Among the determination Opposition players, Mamata present remains the lone cardinal anti-BJP face, who has ensured the TMC’s dominance successful Bengal for the past 3 terms. The BJP had gained important crushed successful Bengal successful the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, winning 18 of 42 seats arsenic against the TMC’s 22 seats. In the 2021 Assembly polls, the BJP won 77 seats retired of 294 against the TMC’s 215 seats, becoming the main Opposition. However, its tally successful the 2024 Lok Sabha polls dipped to 12 against the TMC’s 29 seats.

The BJP’s instrumentality to powerfulness successful Delhi aft 27 years – winning 48 seats retired of 70 against the AAP’s 22 – has been seen successful the enactment circles arsenic different awesome that Modi’s credentials arsenic an predetermination victor stay undented.

Coming connected the backmost of its large wins successful Haryana and Maharashtra, wherever it was said to beryllium connected sticky wickets, the BJP’s Delhi triumph whitethorn besides assistance the enactment neutralise the shadiness formed by its sub-par show successful the Lok Sabha polls.

BJP leaders accidental the Delhi result is simply a “reaffirmation of the credibility of Modi’s guarantees” astatine a clip erstwhile each the parties, some nationalist and regional, are vying with each different successful competitory payment politics. “This would besides beryllium a booster for the BJP’s transportation for a double-engine authorities for development, which would enactment successful our favour successful Bengal,” said a enactment leader.