Interview | Bengal elections will be BJP’s facepalm moment, says Trinamool leader Saugata Roy

Veteran Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Saugata Roy feels the West Bengal elections will be BJP’s facepalm moment as the TMC will gain absolute majority to form its third successive government in the state.

“We are extremely confident of the outcome. We are realistic about the results and the challenges ahead,” Roy, 75, told Moneycontrol in an interview.

Bengal, which borders Bangladesh, is witnessing a high-octane battle between the BJP, the TMC, and the Left-Congress alliance. Elections to the 294-member state assembly will be held in eight phases starting March 27, with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting will be held on May 2.

Roy, along with TMC Lok Sabha member Mohua Mitra and party vice-president Yashwant Singh, met senior Election Commission officials in Delhi on March 19.

“We met Election Commission today and raised three points— the rule under which they are proposing to put only central forces within 100 metres of the polling booth, only five percent of VVPAT checking as supposed to 100 percent and the incident involving the attack on the chief minister on March 10," Moitra was quoted as saying by ANI news agency.

According to reports, the Election Commission has decided that all polling stations in the state would be manned by central paramilitary forces and local police would be deployed 200 metres away from the polling booths.

Roy represents the Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency that lies close to Kolkata’s airport and is the gateway to Bangladesh through Jessore Road. Roy, who serves as the minister of state for petroleum in the Charan Singh Ministry and as minister of state for urban development in the Manmohan Singh government, was born a year before India gained Independence.

‘The psyche of Bengal’

A former professor of physics, Roy said people need to understand the psyche of Bengal, a “truly secular state” in all aspects.

“The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, is on a high, the BJP will have to face some deeply uncomfortable questions about its future in national politics. We are against Narendra Modi’s aggressive brand of Hindu nationalism. The BJP has outlived its usefulness. It represents the single biggest obstacle to creation of a secular India,” he said.

“Bengal is a peaceful state, we live with self-respect and want to keep it peaceful from these fascist forces of the BJP,” said Roy.

TMC workers have repeatedly said Bengal is for culture, the only state in India which has produced four Noble laureates and a filmmaker who picked up a special Oscar.

“But we need to push for business, develop industry so that jobs can be generated for millions. This will be a big challenge. Sadly, an impression is gaining ground in India that Bengal is not the right destination for investments.”

“This needs to be changed. It started after the Singur issue.” Roy’s was referring to the Tata Motors imbroglio that hit the state in 2008. The Mumbai-based conglomerate dropped plans in September of that year to build a factory in Bengal to churn out Nano, the world's cheapest car.

The mini rear-engine car reminiscent of the Volkswagen Beetle, was to roll out from a 1,000-acre plant in Singur, an hour's drive from Kolkata, the state capital but people’s protests derailed the project.

The Trinamool Congress was in the opposition then and swept to power by displacing a three decade-plus Left Front government in 2011, a victory comparable to India lifting the ICC World Cup the same year.

“Somehow that image has got stuck, and this we will rectify and change. I know it cannot happen overnight but the TMC is trying hard to get some big Indian companies and multinational corporations to invest in Bengal.

“The Left Front ruined the investment climate in Bengal for three long decades. It is not easy to change it overnight,” said Roy.

In the Tata case, it was reported that a third of the affected landowners were absentee landlords living in cities. The rest were unskilled workers or subsistence farmers with less than an acre.

In 2007, Indonesia’s Salim Group had to abandon plans to set up a chemical hub in Nandigram after 14 people were killed in clashes between farmers and police.

“In industrialised Bengal, the next generation will have a better future,” said Roy.

A question of ideas

Roy said the BJP lacked ideas for Bengal and the party was triggering some needless speculation over the candidature of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

In India, candidates were allowed to contest elections from two seats, one of which they have to relinquish if elected. “So why speculate on whether Mamata Banerjee will contest from another seat? The BJP needs to read what the country wants,” he said

Roy said the BJP does not win elections on their government’s work, it project their rivals as entitled members of a dynasty and Modi as selfless and hard-working. “But the reality is Modi and his party are constantly stoking communal fault lines between Hindus and Muslims during the campaigns,” he said.

The TMC leader said his party had put in place a communication strategy to market its policies to voters. He was proud that it was only the TMC, which was at the forefront of stitching together a pan-India alliance of opposition parties with the potential to counter the BJP.

Brothers who are chalk and cheese

Political cognoscenti say Roy belongs to an interesting family where his brother, Tathagata Roy, represents the BJP and—until recently—was the governor of Meghalaya. Tathagata was also the governor of Tripura from 2015 to 2018.

The two brothers, who were mentored by Pramatha Nath Bishi, a seasoned educationist and parliamentarian, chose different ideological paths.

Roy said the regional parties—once powerful—sometimes are in disarray. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP pulled off a stunning upset in West Bengal, which was long resistant to the saffron-brand of Hindu-nationalist politics. In the election, the BJP won 18 seats, a big jump from the two it previously held.

“The TMC will give a big boost to the country’s opposition. The opposition parties in India are expected to make notable gains in polls. And then we can plan to win at the national level against Modi and bring some fundamental changes,” said Roy. “Opposition parties must offer to the nation mass leaders who can capture the public imagination.”

Banerjee, who recently told an election rally that she will focus on Delhi after her victory in Bengal, has already demanded four rotating capitals for India. The TMC, for long, has argued against Delhi being the only national capital. But to dislodge Modi, the TMC must become a national force first.