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Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Temple politics in Bengal: How Mamata Banerjee is trying to counter BJP's 'Jai Ma Kali' push
NEW DELHI: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is often accused of appeasement politics by her opponents, seems to be charting new waters to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the political temperatures rise ahead of the 2026 West Bengal assembly election. In the recent bypoll in Nadia's Kaliganj assembly segment, BJP, which although lost the election, felt that the party had significant takeaway from the results - consolidation of Hindu votes. "We have been able to reap the benefits of assimilating Hindu votes in the region. The effort has paid off since we have received an overwhelming majority of votes from Hindu-dominated areas like Palassey," Suvendu Adhikari, leader of opposition, said. This perhaps explains Mamata's recent visible tilt towards soft Hindutva as she tries to do a course correction. With the grand inauguration of Rs 250 crore Jagannath Dham in April, and now the announcement of 'Durga Angan' project, Mamata is signaling a deliberate recalibration of her ideological narrative, long dominated by BJP. The 'Durga Angan' gambit With the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections looming, the chief minister has moved to the heart of the state's cultural and religious identity with her announcement to create 'Durga Angan', a grand year-round temple complex dedicated to Ma Durga. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Here's The Estimated Cost of a 1-day Walk-in Shower Upgrade Homebuddy Learn More Undo "Just as we developed Jagannath Dham, we will create 'Durga Angan' so that people can visit and experience it throughout the year," the TMC chief said. Interestingly, the announcement comes at a time when BJP is swiftly invoking Bengal centric religious symbols like 'Jai Ma Kali' and 'Jai Ma Durga' in its campaign narrative. On July 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked the Goddesses at the beginning of his speech in Durgapur as he said that BJP is the only party that truly respects and protects Bengali 'ashmita' (pride). Later Banerjee, targeting PM directly during Martyrs' Day rally asked: "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. " The CM, however, gave no timeline or details of the project. BJP slams TMC's Hindu symbolism Soon after Mamata's announcement, BJP slammed the decision as unconstitutional, alleging misuse of public funds to promote religion and branding it a political ploy to woo Hindu votes traditionally gravitating toward BJP. Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, asked, "No religious institution - temple, mosque, church or gurudwara - can be built using taxpayers' money." He accused Mamata of misusing public funds and ignoring constitutional benchmarks. He further added, "She hasn't read the Constitution, nor does she understand her own religion. She must educate herself before making such statements." TMC defends its faith credentials TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta, in rebuttal, pointed out Mamata Banerjee's long-standing spiritual affinity and said, "She performed Kali Puja at home even before entering politics. Building temples like Jagannath Dham or Durga Angan stems from genuine faith." He also cited prior state support for thousands of grassroots Durga Pujas and securing a Unesco heritage tag for the festival as evidence of the TMC's longstanding cultural engagement. "She has supported thousands of grassroots Durga Pujas with financial grants and helped secure UNESCO's heritage tag for the festival. She even organises the annual Durga Puja Carnival. Does that not count? BJP mocks Jagannath Dham as a 'theme park' and now questions her faith, people will judge them," he added. Why temple projects matter for TMC In West Bengal, the BJP election campaigns have focused on alleged Muslim appeasement by TMC, drawing support from Hindu voters. This has been especially effective in districts such as Murshidabad, Malda, Nadia, and North 24 Parganas. As Mamata government fights the aftermath of recent riots in Murshidabad, rapes in Kolkata medical college and B-school, the temple projects help TMC's double strategy of blending soft Hindutva symbolism with welfare-centric politics. These moves also come at a time when BJP has brought in Samik Bhattacharya, a staunch party loyalist with deep RSS roots to lead BJP state unit president marking a strategic move by the central leadership to stabilise the state unit amid internal rifts and prepare it for the 2026 Assembly elections. Since the BJP's 2021 assembly poll defeat, the organisation has suffered desertions, infighting, and setbacks in the 2023 Panchayat polls, 2024 Lok Sabha elections and recent bypoll in Kaliganj. In the 2021 assembly elections, TMC secured 48.02% vote share and 215 out of 292 seats, while BJP captured 37.97% but only 77 seats. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, TMC won 29 of 42 seats with approximately 45.76% vote share, up from around 43.3% in 2019; BJP fell to 12 seats with 38.73%, from 40.7% in 2019. While TMC retains advantage, Mamata's recent turn toward Hindu imagery appears bipartisan in purpose: a fence-mending strategy with Hindu voters while reinforcing her base among minority groups and welfare beneficiaries. As Banerjee positions herself at the cross-section of symbolism and state resources, her gamble may well be to preempt BJP's Hindutva allure. For now, the electoral arithmetic still favors TMC, but the game is tightening. In Bengal's increasingly polarised politics, religious symbolism is now a shared battlefield, and Mamata is choosing to play offense.
Hans India
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Kaliganj bypoll results show Hindu votes consolidating behind BJP: State party leaders
Kolkata: Despite losing the Kaliganj Assembly by-election in Nadia district, senior BJP leaders in West Bengal claimed on Tuesday that booth-wise polling trends indicated a growing consolidation of Hindu votes behind the party. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the booth-level data revealed a clear divide -- BJP candidate Ashish Ghosh performed poorly in Muslim-majority booths, while he led in most Hindu-dominated ones. 'In the Kaliganj bypoll, the BJP candidate received either single-digit votes or failed to cross 50 votes in most Muslim-dominated booths. In contrast, the BJP was ahead in nearly all Hindu-majority booths,' Adhikari said on Tuesday. 'This unity of Hindu voters will pave the way for the rise of Hindutva politics in Bengal,' he added. Adhikari asserted that Hindu unity was essential for political change in the state. 'If Hindus remain divided, attacks on them will continue in places like Mothabari, Murshidabad, and Maheshtala. But if Hindus unite across Bengal, a political shift is inevitable in 2026,' he said. BJP state general secretary and former journalist Jagannath Chattopadhyay supported Adhikari's claim with statistics. Citing polling data, he said that the BJP's support among Hindu voters in Kaliganj had steadily increased over recent elections. 'Kaliganj has approximately 1,07,846 Hindu voters (43 per cent) and 1,44,932 Muslim voters (57 per cent). Of the 1,85,664 votes polled in this by-election (73 per cent turnout), around 71,000 were cast by Hindus -- a turnout of 69 per cent among Hindus. Our data show that BJP's support among Hindu voters rose from 70 per cent in the 2021 Assembly polls to 72 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and now stands at over 74 per cent -- the highest ever,' Chattopadhyay said. However, Trinamool Congress candidate Alifa Ahmed, who won the seat by a margin of over 50,000 votes, rejected the BJP's narrative. 'The people of Kaliganj have once again shown that there is no place for communal politics in West Bengal. Voters from all communities supported us,' she said.
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ludhiana Election Result: AAP's Sanjeev Arora vs Congress' Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Who is winning
AAP candidate and Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora moved ahead in the Ludhiana West assembly by-election on Monday, opening a 2,286-vote lead over Congress rival Bharat Bhushan Ashu after six of 14 counting rounds, Election Commission data showed. The seat polled on 19 June and saw 51.33 per cent turnout. Fourteen hopefuls are in the fray. After six of the 14 rounds of counting, Arora had polled 14,486 votes and Ashu 12,200 votes. Ludhiana Election Result: Early rounds put AAP in front By 10 am, officials at the Khalsa College for Women counting centre reported Arora with 14,486 votes and Ashu with 12,200. BJP nominee Jiwan Gupta stood third on 10,703, while Shiromani Akali Dal's Parupkar Singh Ghuman followed on 3,283. Ashu topped the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, but Arora's earlier advantage kept him ahead overall. Turnout drops from 2022 Out of 1.74 lakh electors, barely half voted this time, a sharp fall from the 64 per cent recorded in the 2022 state election. Polling day passed without major incident under tight security. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Locate Almost Anyone By Entering Their Name (This Is Addicting!) TruthFinder Search Now Undo Seat fell vacant after MLA Gogi's death The election was called when sitting AAP legislator Gurpreet Bassi Gogi died in January. In 2022 Gogi had unseated Ashu—his one-time friend—by 7,512 votes. Ludhiana Election Result: Main contenders Sanjeev Arora (AAP): Local industrialist, social worker and sitting Rajya Sabha MP. Live Events You Might Also Like: 2025 Assembly bypoll results news live: Congress wins Nilambur, AAP wins in Gujarat's Visavadar; Check all updates Bharat Bhushan Ashu (Congress): Two-term former MLA and state minister. Jiwan Gupta (BJP): Businessman with grassroots links in Ludhiana's Hindu-dominated wards. Parupkar Singh Ghuman (SAD): Party's urban face in the district. Speculation over Arora's Rajya Sabha seat Political circles have debated whether an Arora victory could free a Rajya Sabha berth for AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal. The party denies any plan to shift Kejriwal to Parliament's upper house. You Might Also Like: Nilambur Election Results: Congress' Aryadan Shoukath vs CPM's M Swaraj, who is winning this key battle before Kerala state elections next year Ludhiana Election Result: Campaign flashpoints The BJP targeted AAP's record, saying the government had turned Punjab into a 'rehabilitation centre' for Kejriwal's rejected Delhi loyalists. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann countered, calling the by-poll a battle between 'humility' and 'arrogance'. AAP leaders expressed confidence in their 'pro-people governance', while opposition parties relied on what they called mounting anti-incumbency. Last October, the Enforcement Directorate searched Arora's Ludhiana residence in a money-laundering probe linked to a land case. AAP dismissed the action as politically motivated. Counting will continue through eight more rounds. The Election Commission is expected to declare the final result by the afternoon. AAP needs to hold the seat to keep its assembly tally at 92; a Congress win would lift the party to 19 and hand the opposition a symbolic boost in Punjab's business capital.
Hans India
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Assembly bypolls: Ludhiana (West) in Punjab sees 33 pc turnout
Chandigarh: Nearly thirty-three per cent of voters exercised their franchise on Thursday till 1 p.m. to elect the legislator for the Ludhiana (West) constituency that fell vacant after the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. The voting started at 7 a.m. In the first two hours, the polling percentage was 8.50 per cent, which rose to 21.51 per cent by 11 am. The polling at 194 polling booths will continue till 6 p.m. The counting of votes will be held on June 23 simultaneously with four other Assembly seats -- two in Gujarat and one each in Kerala and West Bengal. The state ruling Aam Aadmi Party is eyeing to retain the seat, and the main Opposition Congress is aiming to win back the seat that it had represented six times. In total, 14 candidates are in the fray for the urban seat. The BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal have also fielded candidates for the seat. The main contest largely seems between AAP's candidate Sanjeev Arora, the party's Rajya Sabha member and local industrialist, Congress' former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who represented the seat twice from 2012. Ashu was defeated by his friend-turned-foe Gogi, 58, by a margin of 7,512 votes in the 2022 Assembly poll. The BJP has fielded Jiwan Gupta, the party's state unit core committee member, while its former ally, Akali Dal, reposed faith in Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a former president of the Ludhiana Bar Association. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sibin C. said 1,74,437 electorates, comprising 84,825 women and 10 third-gender voters, will cast votes at 194 polling booths set up at 66 locations. These include 10 model polling booths, one all-women, one eco-friendly and one booth operated by Public Works Department (PWD) staff. Additionally, 13 booths have been declared critical, where paramilitary forces have been deployed. To facilitate senior citizens, persons with disabilities and voters with medical issues, home voting was conducted with 239 participants. He said security checkpoints have been established at 54 locations across the constituency, and all activities are being closely monitored by the security forces. By fielding the Rajya Sabha MP, speculations in political circles are rife that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, who's active in the state politics after facing humiliating defeat not only of his party but his bastion in Delhi Assembly elections, is going to the Rajya Sabha in his place in case Sanjeev Arora wins the bypoll. However, the party denies that Kejriwal is moving to the Rajya Sabha. Interestingly, in October 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out a raid at the residence of AAP candidate Arora as part of a money laundering probe linked to a land 'fraud' case. The BJP, which is expanding its footprints in the state's Hindu-dominated urban constituencies, is eyeing to give a tough contest to both the state ruling AAP and the Congress by fielding a strong and credible local face with grassroots connect. In the run-up to the polling, the Bharatiya Janata Party carried out a scathing attack on the three-year rule of AAP's governance in Punjab, accusing them of transforming the state into a 'rehabilitation centre' for Kejriwal's rejected Delhi loyalists. BJP leaders like Tarun Chugh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Manjinder Singh Sirsa claimed that AAP is systematically placing its favoured individuals in key administrative positions, effectively undermining Punjab's autonomy. They argued that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been reduced to a 'rubber stamp' while Kejriwal operates as a remote puppet master. AAP state President Aman Arora has claimed that the atmosphere during the campaign indicated that the AAP candidate Arora is heading towards a massive victory.
Hans India
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Ludhiana West bypoll: AAP seeks to retain seat as Cong, SAD ready for fight; BJP to name candidate
The political scene in Punjab's industrial city heated up on Sunday after the Election Commission of India (ECI) fixed June 19 as the polling day for the Ludhiana West Assembly byelection that fell vacant with the demise of Gurpreet Gogi Bassi. Bassi, 58, died after sustaining a gunshot wound to his head at his house in January. The counting will be held on June 23 simultaneously with four other Assembly seats -- two in Gujarat and one each in Kerala and West Bengal. The state Aam Aadmi Party in February announced Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora as its candidate for the Ludhiana (West) Assembly byelection, while the main Opposition Congress has fielded former Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who is being accused in a multi-crore foodgrain transportation and labour cartage tender scam. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has nominated Parupkar Singh Ghuman for the bypoll. The BJP is yet to name its candidate. By fielding the sitting MP, speculations in political circles are rife that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, who's active in the state politics after facing humiliating defeat not only of his party but his bastion in Delhi Assembly elections, is going to the Rajya Sabha in his place in case Arora wins the bypoll. However, the party has so far denied that Kejriwal is moving to the Rajya Sabha. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in October 2024 carried out a raid at the residence of AAP candidate Arora in Ludhiana as part of a money laundering probe linked to a land 'fraud' case. The raid was in connection with a chunk of land that was allotted to Ritesh Properties and Industries Limited, one of the companies owned by Arora, by the state government for an industrial project, but it was used for a residential project. In the 2022 Assembly elections, AAP's legislator Gogi, who joined the party in the run-up to the polls, defeated two-time legislator Bharat Bhushan Ashu in Ludhiana (West), a traditional Congress stronghold urban seat. The BJP, which is expanding its footprints in the state's Hindu-dominated urban constituencies, is eyeing to field a strong and credible local face with grassroots connect to give a tough contest both to the state ruling AAP and the Congress. The Bharatiya Janata Party has already launched a scathing attack on the three-year rule of AAP's governance in Punjab, accusing it of transforming the state into a 'rehabilitation centre' for Kejriwal's rejected Delhi loyalists. The BJP leaders like Tarun Chugh and Manjinder Singh Sirsa claim that AAP is systematically placing its favoured individuals in key administrative positions, effectively undermining Punjab's autonomy. They argue that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been reduced to a 'rubber stamp' while Kejriwal operates as a remote puppet master. The allegations suggest a broader critique of AAP's political strategy of transplanting its Delhi network into Punjab's political ecosystem. Reacting to the appointment of three Delhi-based lawyers -- Mohammad Irshad, Prashant Manchanda, and R.V. Sinha -- as Additional Advocate Generals in Punjab, Chugh last week questioned whether Punjab lacked its own legal talent or whether it had now become a 'shelter home' for Kejriwal's 'blue-eyed boys'.
