Bharatiya Janata Party barely has a standing in West Bengal. The region for years has been the stronghold of either Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress or the Communist Party of India. But the saffron forces are now trying to set a base for themselves in the state.
On Wednesday, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing leader openly announced a bounty of Rs 11 lakh for anyone who beheads Mamata Banerjee. Inciting communal sentiments, Yogesh Varshney, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) said: “Mamata government beat up people. If someone was wearing a red shirt or a red pant, they were beaten up brutally by the police. Mamata Banerjee organises Iftar party, she argues for the Muslims. I want to ask her are Hindus not human? If they had any humanity, they wouldn’t have beaten up like this. If anyone brings me her severed head, I will give that person Rs 11 lakh.”
#WATCH Aligarh:BJP Youth wing leader Yogesh Varshney offers Rs 11 lakhs for WB CM’s head after a lathicharge in Birbhum on Hanuman Jayanti pic.twitter.com/JR77MgzptV
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The BJP has been trying hard to set its foot in the state. In fact, its vote share has seen a substantial hike from 6% in 2009 to 16.8% in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, but a lot still needs to be done. It is for this reason that the BJP seems to be working on benefitting from playing on Hindu sentiments. The recent proof of this polarisation tactic is the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s plan to organise grand celebration in the state on the occasion of Ram Navami.
Also Read: Behead Mamata Banerjee and take Rs 11 lakh reward from me: Bengal BJP youth wing leader
RSS general secretary Jishnu Basu had recently said that the organisation will bring Hindu together through a series of programmes. The grand Ram Navami celebrations organised in every district was aimed at “teaching the urgent need for Hindus to come together in Bengal,” Basu had said.
Even VHP was quoted as saying that the Ram Navami celebrations were being planned to make the Hindus in the state aware of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Though the BJP did not formally associate itself with the programmes organised by the RSS and the VHP, the party said that by bringings Hindus together, the party will be able to do well in the upcoming electoral elections.
“The initiative will build confidence among the Hindus of Bengal. It will foster the much-needed brotherhood,” BJP state president Dilip Ghosh was quoted in an interview with Hindustan Times. He had also added that Hindus are under attack and there is an unchecked rise in fundamentalist elements in the state.
Alleging polarisation, Mamata had even asked senior leaders in Trinamool Congress to prepare a document exposing BJP’s communal politics. Mamata has been giving clear signals that her anti-BJP tirade will gather momentum before 2019 Lok Sabha elections. On several occasions, she has even made it apparent that she will play a key role in strengthening the anti-BJP platform at the national level.
Playing on religious sentiments is not something that the BJP alone is doing or something that is new in the state. The TMC too has been continuously under the radar for catering to Muslim appeasement. The Hindus are also said to have felt alienated due to Mamata giving more importance to Muslims. In such times, will the saffron forces be able to benefit from appeasing the often-neglected Hindus in the state?
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