Kolkata. Preparations for the assembly elections are continuing in full swing in West Bengal. The main contest in the state is between the ruling Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. TMC has a strong hold in the 294-member assembly, while BJP is the second largest party with 77 seats. The alliance of other Left parties and newly formed parties may affect the electoral equation, but the real contestation focuses on youth and women votes.
In this regard, Mamata Banerjee has strengthened her political front this time through two major welfare schemes. First, the already running ‘Lakshmi Bhandar’ scheme, which aims to provide financial assistance to 2.42 crore women. The monthly assistance in this scheme has been reduced to Rs 1,500, and the support of women had given TMC a decisive lead in 2021. Second, the new ‘Yuva Sathi’ scheme, in which unemployed youth aged 21-40 years will be given Rs 1,500 monthly. The minimum qualification is 10th pass and around 78 lakh youth applied within nine days of the start of the application process. Experts believe that voters in this age group may constitute around 45 percent of the total voters, due to which the plan may change the electoral equation.
At the same time, SIR (Special Intensive Review) is also important in political issues in the state. BJP considers SIR beneficial as part of its strategy, while Mamata Banerjee termed the SIR process being done by the Election Commission as a political conspiracy. He also gave a humanitarian message by announcing employment to one member from the families of 61 dead people. In 2021, TMC got 49 percent vote share and 213 seats, while BJP got more than 38 percent votes and 77 seats. This time BJP is preparing to contest elections on issues like infiltration and Hindutva. At the same time, Mamata’s schemes are likely to attract women and young voters due to their focus on direct benefits. Overall, the upcoming elections in West Bengal are going to prove to be a very interesting and tough contest between economic welfare schemes and ideological issues. Mamata’s dual strategy—focus on youth and women—could be challenging for the BJP and could reshape the electoral equation.