Bengal BJP Vs Mamata Banerjee - The Fight Has Just Begun

36 Seats Yet To Go To Polls

North Bengal, where BJP is strong has already voted. The party won 6 out of 6 these seats last time.

South Bengal, though, has 30+ seats. How's the BJP doing there?

The party is missing a few tricks. In both countering Trinamool Congress and setting an aggressive narrative the party's state unit is found wanting.

• Mamata Banerjee wins over women votes with freebies. BJP has no counter for it yet.

• The TMC government's Lakshmi Bhandara monthly Rs 1000 transfer to women is a hit.

• First introduced in 2021, Mamata Banerjee doubled the monthly transfer from Rs 500 to Rs 1000 this February - just before polls.

On Sandeshkhali: The BJP has inexplicably failed to keep up the offensive against the Trinamool on this issue. 

• The party nominated one of the victims of Sandeshkhali--Rekha Patra--as its candidate for the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat. 

• But there has been no sustained momentum or follow up on the issue.

• It's doubtful if the party has made an impact on the women voters beyond the initial stages.

The missing counter-offensive: As Banerjee accuses BJP of stopping central funds to the state, the party's response is not strong enough.

• When Calcutta HC cancelled the appointment of 25,000 teachers, the TMC quickly built a narrative that the judiciary did this at the behest of the BJP.

• Banerjee accuses BJP of taking away jobs from people at all her rallies over the last few days.

• The BJP should have countered with its allegations of TMC making money over teacher appointments - costing 25,000 people their jobs.

Bottomline: The BJP has to launch a more visible and aggressive campaign if it is serious about improving its 2019 tally of 18 seats. 

My colleague Jaideep Mazumdar has been traveling around the state and brought back this full report for you.

- Amar Govindarajan