If public response is anything to go by, the numerous hurdles put up by the Bengal government to derail the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) poll campaign in the state seems to be backfiring. The BJP had to call off its elaborate ‘Ganatantra Bachao’ (save democracy) rath yatras after the state denied permission to it, citing “intelligence reports” of “possible breach of communal harmony” in areas the yatras were to be held. The first rally was to have been flagged off by party president Amit Shah from Coochbehar in North Bengal in end-December and similar rallies were planned all over Bengal.

You can also read this article in Hindi- जनता की प्रतिक्रिया से प्रोत्साहित भाजपा का बंगाल में तूफानी चुनाव अभियान

After even the Calcutta High Court denied permission to the BJP to hold the yatras, the party chief instructed the state unit to hold small rallies and meetings all over the state and mobilise public opinion against the Mamata Banerjee government. These meetings and rallies held all over the state evoked a very encouraging response . “Our national president asked us to take it (the denial of state permission) as a challenge and reach out to maximum number of people. We did exactly that and all our state leaders, office-bearers and workers carried out a massive outreach programme to mobilise the masses,” said BJP state president Dilip Ghosh.

The results of the outreach programme launched by leaders and cadres of the party over the past few weeks became evident during Amit Shah’s rally at Malda last week. Shah’s rally on 22 January drew a large crowd that was not ‘hired’. Tens of thousands turned up for the rally in the Muslim-majority district and responded lustily to the BJP chief’s call to oust Mamata Banerjee from power. They cheered Shah repeatedly and when the party president asked for a show of hands in support of the BJP, all hands were up.

“Hired crowds like those at the 19 January rally organised by the Trinamool in Kolkata (which was attended by many opposition politicians from across the country) do not respond to speakers. Hired crowds do not cheer speakers and agree so vocally with them as they did at Malda on 22 January. The people who attended Amit Shah’s Malda rally, and the subsequent rallies of (Union Minister) Smriti Irani, came on their own since they have started supporting the BJP,” said Ghosh.

Irani addressed rallies, which also drew huge response and where the crowds cheered her whenever she lashed out at Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool, at Jhargram on 23 January, at Jaynagar on 24 January and at Krishnagar on 25 January. Irani highlighted the ‘syndicate raj’ (read this expose) prevalent in Bengal and lashed out the Trinamool for levying illegal ‘tax’ on everything ranging from issuing birth and death certificates to college and hospital admissions. And the response of the crowds at her rallies, as they endorsed her attacks on the Trinamool, was thunderous. “The response of the crowds at the rallies by Amit Shah and Smriti Irani last week prove that people of Bengal are fed up with the Trinamool and want change. And they see the BJP as a good alternative to the Trinamool,” said state vice-president Joyprakash Majumder.

Enthused by such popular response from the masses, the BJP has now chalked out a huge number of rallies covering every nook and corner of the state. More than 300 rallies have been planned, many of them featuring top national-level BJP leaders including Prime Minister Modi, party chief Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and other Union Ministers and Chief Ministers as star speakers. This shows that the BJP is serious about achieving its target of bagging 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats.

The hurdles put up by the Bengal government, like denying permission till the last moment for helicopters carrying Amit Shah and then Smriti Irani to land, or making it difficult for the BJP to hire grounds for its rallies, have not dampened the resolve to take the Trinamool head-on. “These tactics only strengthen our determination to fight the Trinamool democratically and defeat them. These dirty tricks show that the Trinamool is scared and that makes us bolder and more resolute. And the people understand everything,” said Dilip Ghosh.

This leg of the BJP’s ambitious target to make the lotus bloom in Bengal started on Sunday (27 January) with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi addressing a rally at Howrah. This rally also drew a huge crowd. The rallies by the Central leaders and leaders from other states are being supplemented by ones being addressed by the party’s state level leaders. And the schedule drawn up for them is punishing with many of them addressing two or more rallies a day in all parts of the state. The idea is to saturate Bengal with BJP rallies and build up a tsunami of support for the saffron party, said a state party leader.

BJP national president addressed a rally at Contai on 29 January (yesterday) and on the same day, Union Minister Giriraj Singh and Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb addressed rallies at Serampore and Arambagh, respectively. Deb is expected to address another rally at Mathurapur today (30 January). Prime Minister Modi will address rallies at Durgapur and Thakurnagar on 2 February. The Thakurnagar rally will be significant since the town houses the headquarters of the Matua Mahasangha , a socio-religious movement of Scheduled Castes, most of them migrants from Bangladesh. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which promises citizenship to these migrants is expected to strike a chord among the Matuas.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is scheduled to address rallies at Balurghat and Raiganj (both in North Bengal) on 3 February and another two at Purulia and Bankura on 5 February. Former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda will be at Bishnupur on 6 February while former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will address rallies at Berhampore and Dum Dum on 6 and 7 February respectively. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will address a rally at Kharagpur on 7 February and Prime Minister Modi will address rallies at Siliguri and Jalpaiguri on 8 February.

The back-to-back rallies to be addressed by such senior leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, presents a huge logistical challenge for the BJP state unit. But the fact that the BJP in Bengal is living up to the challenge, and even planning to intensify the campaigning by getting national-level leaders to address simultaneous rallies at different places on the same day as the poll campaign intensifies, is evidence of its determination to mount a serious challenge to the Trinamool and take it head-on. And also of the BJP’s firm intent in bagging more than half the Lok Sabha seats from Bengal.

BJP leaders also point out that given the level of political violence in Bengal and the retribution unleashed by the ruling party on anyone who displays support for an opposition party, it is remarkable that such huge crowds are being seen at the BJP’s rallies. “The Trinamool Congress has issued dire warnings to people in villages and towns across Bengal to stay away from BJP rallies. But the fact that people are defying those warnings and flocking to our meetings proves that they are totally disenchanted with the Trinamool and have overcome their fear of that party. It shows that they no longer care for such warnings and threats of retribution,” said Dilip Ghosh.

As the campaign for the Lok Sabha gathers steam in the coming weeks, the BJP has already won a head start over the Trinamool in Bengal. BJP leaders acknowledge that the ruling party in Bengal will “try every dirty trick” to disrupt BJP rallies, threaten people and attack BJP workers. “But the Trinamool should know its days are numbered. The desperation being displayed by the Trinamool matches that shown by the CPI(M) in its last days in Bengal,” said a BJP leader.