History seems to be repeating itself in West Bengal. The horrific incidents happening one after the other and the spontaneous mass movements in different parts of the state are reminiscent of the times before 2011. This was the situation in the state before the Leftist regime in West Bengal was uprooted. Firstly, Mamata Banerjee, as the main opposition, was troubling the government. Mamata launched such a huge movement against the land acquisition for building a chemical hub in Nandigram and the land acquisition for Tata’s Nano car project in Singur that the Left Front, which has been in power for three and a half decades, could not handle it. The movement that started in Nandigram in 2007 culminated in the end of Left rule in 2011 and the coronation of Mamata Banerjee.
Now, two years before the 2026 assembly elections, the situation is becoming similar to what it was in 2007. Movement against Mamata Banerjee is raging every now and then. The difference is that this time Mamata Banerjee does not have any firebrand opposition leader like her. BJP is the main opposition party but it has no face. She cannot fight Mamata Banerjee on the strength of Subhendu Adhikari, brought on loan from Trinamool Congress. BJP is understanding this and that is why it has not put any face forward nor is it showing that it has any hand in the agitation taking place at different places against the Mamata government. In many places, BJP really has no hand. People are agitating on their own and every small and big protest is ultimately turning into a big anti-government movement.
The most important thing is that Mamata Banerjee, as Chief Minister and leader of Trinamool Congress, is losing the battle of perception. She is losing the narrative. The narrative of ‘Maa, Mati Manush’ which he had created is slipping out of his hands. Women are angry with his government and are putting him in the dock. The way Mamata’s administration acted after the incident of rape and heinous murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Hospital has left a deep stain on Mamata’s face. Their simple white cotton sarees used to inspire confidence in women, that is no longer the case.
Junior doctors of Kolkata went on strike for 42 days and during this period, apart from doctors, ordinary women also came in large numbers and supported them. Then the junior doctors sat on a hunger strike and got support from the wider society. They are hurt by the fact that they are attacked unnecessarily in hospitals and the government does nothing. They want an end to the culture of intimidation in the state and the government is not doing anything in this also.
There is a perception about Mamata Banerjee’s government that she gave priority to the image of her government over the identity and life of the woman and hence to save the image, Mamata’s police had offered money to the family of the victim doctor. The protests against this incident had not yet stopped when the body of a 10-year-old girl was found in Kripakhali area of South 24 Parganas, whose family members say that she was raped and then brutally killed by breaking her hands and legs. Went.
When the complaint about the girl’s disappearance was made in the police station, the police did not take any notice and made no effort to search for the girl. Then after his dead body was found, people got angry and set the police station on fire. Before that they vandalized and attacked the policemen. The policemen had to run to save their lives. People also chased away the local Trinamool Congress MLA. People compared this incident with the incident at RG Kar Hospital and said that the attitude of Mamata Banerjee’s police was the same in both the cases.
Everyone knows what happened in Sandeshkhali before this. People united against the atrocities of local Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh and took to the streets and protested. In that case also, Mamata Banerjee’s police tried to save the accused. Three incidents of Sandeshkhali, Kolkata and Kripakhali of South 24 Parganas have become the main reason for the negative perception being created about the Mamata government. Well, there may be other reasons too. After winning elections for the third consecutive time, anti-incumbency arises towards any government. However, whenever such a thing happens, Trinamool supporters say that Mamata Banerjee’s party has won 29 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. It has snatched away the six seats it had won from the BJP. It means people are still with him.
But keep in mind that the Lok Sabha elections were held before the RG Kar Hospital incident and secondly, there was resentment across the country against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, which benefited Mamata Banerjee. After the RG Kar Hospital incident, the perception towards Mamata has changed rapidly. The large number of women who have come out on the streets to protest against them is an example that things are changing rapidly. A large number of women have taken to the streets against Mamata and its symbols were also seen in the Durga Puja pandals this year. Many puja pandals were made on the theme of the RG Kar Hospital incident. The body of a junior doctor was with Maa Durga in a puja pandal. She was carrying the body of the junior doctor with both hands. In another puja pandal, the body of a junior doctor was lying on the ground and Maa Durga had covered both his eyes with her hands. In that pandal, the lion of Maa Durga was also standing with its eyes down in shame.
The election results of West Bengal are largely reflected in the Durga Puja pandals. If we consider this as a yardstick, then it will be clearly seen that Mamata Banerjee is losing the narrative. The perception about them is changing. Apart from the resentment of women, the second thing that changes the perception towards them is that the civil society of Kolkata and entire Bengal is against them. Civil society has turned its back on Mamata Banerjee.
Mamata Banerjee will definitely do something to change the perception in the two and a quarter years left for her elections, but it cannot be said how successful she will be. The biggest plus point with him is that there is no opposition. Despite having 75 MLAs, BJP is completely ineffective as an opposition. It has leaders imported from Trinamool. Currently, by-elections are being held on six assembly seats in West Bengal. Their results will also give some glimpse of the future politics of the state. However, it would not be right to predict 2026 from their results. Still, it will be known how much electoral benefit BJP gets from the changing perception towards Mamata.