22-07-2025
Booth By Booth, Temple By Temple: How West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Is Taking On BJP Ahead Of Polls
West Bengal Assembly Elections will take place next year, but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is well aware of how tight the contest will be this time, given that the opponents are not Congress-Left but the BJP, which will contest the polls with all its might. To take on the BJP, which is spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the TMC is taking on each and every political aspect being taken up by the saffron party. During a recent rally, Prime Minister Modi started his speech with 'Jai Ma Durge' and 'Jai Ma Kaali' chants, a shift from 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Siya Ram'.
Wooing Booths With Funds
The TMC is aware of how the BJP works to mobilise booths and grassroot workers and thus, CM Mamata Banerjee is not targeting booth-level workers and voters as well. On Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee announced 'Amader Para, Amader Samadhan' (our neighbourhood, our solution) program under which she announced Rs 10 lakh funds per booth to provide grievance redressal and services to common people.
Banerjee said that this is the first such initiative in the country where people to voice their opinions and mutually decide the issues they need to get it resolved in their booth using Rs 10 lakh. She said that local issues will be identified and resolved at the extreme micro level. She said that the scheme gives power in the hands of people, as it's for the first time that people will decide what's best for them under a Govt-public participatory programme.
"In total, the state government will be spending Rs 8000 crore on this programme. It will start on August 2. A Task Force will be headed by the Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, who will monitor this," said Banerjee.
Counter Polarisation
Accused of appeasement politics by the BJP, the TMC is now doing course correction by taking up soft Hindutva, to not upset the Muslims while appealing to the Hindu voters. Recently, Banerjee led the grand inauguration of Rs 250 crore Jagannath Dham and now, she has launched 'Durga Angan' project, a grand year-round temple complex dedicated to Ma Durga. This is being seen as a counter to the BJP invoking 'Durga' and 'Kali' in its campaign.
During Martyrs' Day rally on July 21, Banerjee made her intent clear why targeting PM Modi, "Why is it that you suddenly start remembering Ma Kali and Ma Durga only during the elections? Ma Durga is our revered goddess, and Durga Puja has even received international recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. Now listen, just as we developed Jagannath Dham, we will create 'Durga Angan' so that people can visit and experience it throughout the year."
BJP Alleges Symbolism
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly criticised the move, calling it a violation of constitutional principles and accusing the state government of diverting public funds for religious purposes. Party leaders claimed the decision was a calculated attempt to appeal to Hindu voters who have traditionally supported the BJP.
Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, argued that government funds should not be used to construct any place of worship—whether it be a temple, mosque, church, or gurudwara. He accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misusing taxpayer money and disregarding the secular framework outlined in the Constitution.
