The political cauldron in West Bengal.

It's with great interest that I'm watching the political slug fest that's going on in West Bengal. I've reached a conclusion - and I fully know that I ain't any psephologist and don't have the foggiest about the ground realities as I'm far away from the scene - and here are my thoughts.  

Let's, first, see the personal egos at play :-

* Prashant Kishor was the poll strategist for the BJP in 2014 and fell out with that party when he had differences. After that, he has been trying to play up with every party - just to satisfy his ego - to see the BJP bite the dust. (He got his way, to some extent, in Bihar during the Assembly elections of 2015 when he got the 'mahagathbandhan' going and when the results were out, the BJP had to sit in the opposition, albeit for just one year because Nitish Kumar was uncomfortable with Laloo Prasad Yadav!). He is the poll strategist in West Bengal, this time. Now, let's see what he has achieved - again a 'mahagathbandhan' has been formed. 

* The Congress, the communists and the Muslim grouping of the 'Indian Secular Front' have come under one umbrella and their stated aim is to 'keep the BJP out of power'. Here's what I feel that he and the parties are quite out of sync with the grassroots level thinking. Does the Congress and the Communists' grass root level workers subscribe to this view after having been tormented by the TMC workers over the last ten years that it has been in power?

* Political violence - once the communists' weapon - has been used to the hilt by the TMC to deal with its opponents. Consequently, there has been many political murders and deaths over the previous years.

* Minority appeasement had exceeded all limits under Mamata Banerjee. She has been doing it openly but don't you think the Muslims haven't seen through her tactics and are fed up with the wretched existence of theirs?  

The BJP under Prime Minister Modi has, therefore, become a welcome alternative because of two reasons :-

* If it comes to power, the governments at the state and at the centre being from the same party, will accrue benefits to the state in terms of good governance and development.

* It has a comparatively clean image compared with that of the other parties.

And doesn't Mamata Banerjee's body language show that she wants the whole thing to finish at the earliest - the steady influx of her party men and women into the opposition camps having become a daily affair?

Interesting.....the results that would come out on 02 May will tell it all.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Completed most of the bill payments today online.

Participated in the Aazhchakkoottam : "Covid Vaccine and Heart Patients" by Dr Tiny Nair, Chief Cardiologist, PRS Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. It was a nice interaction.