Sandeshkhali at the heart of women outreach in BJP-Trinamool battle in Bengal

Amid the intensifying Sandeshkhali crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on March 6, addressed the "Nari Shakti Vandan" rally in Barasat in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured justice to a group of women from Sandeshkhali,  West Bengal Chief Minister participated in the Mahila Wing Rally of Trinamool Congress on March 7.

With the Sandeshkhali episode playing out, both Trinamool Congress and BJP are going all out to woo Bengal women ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Since January, Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, witnessed unprecedented protests over allegations of sexual abuse and land grabbing by scores of women against local Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shajahan and his supporters.

While women voters in Bengal are crucial for the BJP, they are also central to the Trinamool plans of thwarting the saffron party in West Bengal.

Why do women vote matters in the state?

According to the Election Commission data shared last year,  3.73 crore women and 3.8 crore men comprise West Bengal’s total electorate of 7.5 crore. Women turned out to vote at a higher rate than men in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls – 81.79 precent against 81.35 percent for men.

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In the 2021 Assembly elections, it is said that women helped Trinamool thwart BJP’s from coming to power in the state. West Bengal witnessed a turnout of 81.7 percent female voters as against 81.4 percent male voters in 2021.

PM Modi goes all out

During his recent visit to Barasat near Sandeshkhali, the PM attacked the Trinamool Congress government over “atrocities against women of Sandeshkhali”. "Whatever happened in Sandeshkhali is a matter of shame. The TMC government is trying to protect the person responsible for this. However, they have received a setback from the high court as well as the Supreme Court… The storm of Sandeshkhali will reach every part of West Bengal," he said.

The PM also said “Banglar maa aar bonera aamar jonno Maa Durga hoye saamne daray (The mothers and sisters of Bengal stand up in my defence like Maa Durga)”. This remark sent the crowd in a tizzy.

After the meeting, the Prime Minister met five women from Sandeshkhali. "He asked our names and the names of the villages where we live. We revealed to him the names of the perpetrators of the crimes and told him about the insecurity we continue to live in. He told us not to worry and expressed his respect for the fight we have put up against those criminals," a female Sandeshkhali resident told NDTV after meeting PM Modi.

PM Modi begins many of his rallies with chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and “Jai Shri Ram”. But in Bengal, he began his speech with slogans of “Jai Maa Durga" and “Jai Maa Kali".

Mamata joins the race too

Trinamool Mahila Congress rally also saw the participation of some women from Sandeshkhali. The theme of the rally was Mahilader Adhikar, Amader Angikar (women's rights, our commitment). "Yesterday, BJP leaders said women are tortured in Bengal. I can challenge that women are the safest in Bengal,” said the CM.

Women voters form a key support base for the Trinamool Congress. During her regime, CM Banerjee consolidated this base through various schemes such as Kanyashri, Rupashree and Lakshmir Bhandar. However, the Sandeshkhali episode may have threaten the ruling party’s popularity among women voters.

To woo women, the Trinamool government increased the remuneration of Asha and anganwadi workers by Rs 750 per month the day before PM Modi visited the state.

The Trinamool cannot afford an erosion in its women vote bank as it looks to stop the BJP in its tracks and prevent it from repeating the 2019 Lok Sabha performance when it won a record 18 parliamentary seats from the state. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool bagged 34 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats while the BJP won two.