Why does TMC succeed in the narrative that shows BJP as an outsider? understand the nuances

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calls the Bharatiya Janata Party an outsider party. Their leaders openly say that BJP’s politics is to impose the culture of Gujarat and UP and Hindi speaking states. Trinamool Congress considers BJP as a threat to the culture of West Bengal. TMC says that BJP has not been able to understand Bengali culture, music, art, festivals and icon men.

Bengal has been the land of cultural renaissance. Mamata Banerjee and her party leaders say in public that BJP can never come to a province where there is literature of Tagore and Nazrul, music, art, diverse festivals like Durga Puja and strong culture. Why is this so, why once again the issue of outsider vs Bengali is looming, what is happening, let us find answers to these questions-

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Why is BJP accused of being an outsider?

February 19 was the birth anniversary of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to him. ‘Swami’ was added before the name. This thing displeased TMC. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got angry at PM Modi. He said that PM Modi has ‘cultural insensitivity’. Mamata Banerjee says that in the Bengali tradition, Ramakrishna Paramhansa is always addressed as ‘Thakur’, while the word ‘Swami’ is used for his ascetic disciples. Mamata Banerjee, explaining in detail, said that the holy trinity of Ramakrishna Mission includes Thakur, Maa and Swamiji. Thakur, Ramakrishna is Paramhansa, Maa is Sarada Devi, Swamiji is used for Vivekananda.

TMC calls itself outsider on the pretext of prefixes

Mamata Banerjee has advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to add new prefixes to the great sages of Bengal as per his wish. Prefixes are those words which, when added to a word, characterize it or change its meaning. In English it is called prefix. These days, Trinamool Congress is reminding us of PM Modi’s cultural mistakes. PM Modi, during his address on the budget session, had called Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay ‘Bankim Da’ in the Rajya Sabha. TMC had called it an insult to Bankim Chandra.

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Does PM Modi use wrong prefixes?

BJP does not consider it a mistake. BJP spokesperson says that the word Swami is used all over India for great saints. This has been the tradition. This is a word with a sense of dedication. Mamata Banerjee is giving importance to unnecessary issues. ‘Swami’ refers to a spiritual master. It is a different matter that in Bengal it is more popular to say ‘Thakur’. Using the word ‘Swami’ is not a crime linguistically. Mamta Banerjee seems to be successful in her strategy at the local level, while BJP is getting into trouble while giving clarification.

Why does BJP get caught in the battle of external vs domestic?

Anjan Dutta, an advocate in the Supreme Court, is inclined towards BJP. He is a part of many cultural committees of Bengal and has also been a student of history. When the same question was asked to him, he said, BJP is weak in the battle of outsider versus Bengali identity because Mamata Banerjee, decades ago, had set a record in the narrative of ‘Mother, Soil and Manush’. Just like now, a Hindutva party may emerge but it will not be able to touch the graph of BJP, similar is the atmosphere created for TMC in West Bengal these days. People are considering Mamata Banerjee as sister and Abhishek Banerjee as her successor.

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The battle of narrative, why TMC wins, there are some reasons due to which BJP is not able to win-
 
How does BJP lag behind in the battle for Bengali identity?

: Mamata Banerjee, after the Singur and Nandigram movements, had presented herself as the sole protector of Bengali culture, language and traditions. This viewpoint of his has been deeply ingrained in the minds of the public. Mamata Banerjee often describes herself as the ‘daughter of Bengal’ with the slogan ‘Maa, Mati, Manush’. BJP goes wrong here. Major senior and central level leaders of BJP are not from West Bengal. When Prime Minister Modi, Amit Shah or CM Yogi come from Delhi and hold rallies, TMC calls it an attack by Delhi on Bengal and a threat to its regional pride.

Why are there allegations of cultural ignorance?

Words are caught in politics. TMC makes the same allegations against BJP. The stature of Suvendu Adhikari or Soumik Bhattacharya is not yet at the level of Mamata Banerjee to challenge them in the state. At the same time, calling Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as ‘Swami’ or calling Bankim Chandra as ‘Bankim Da’, the cultural mistakes made unknowingly by BJP leaders, become weapons for TMC.

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An accident which Bengalis could not forget

Anjan Dutta explains that during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, a statue of Ishwar Chand Vidyasagar was broken. TMC had alleged that during Amit Shah’s rally, it was deliberately disrupted by the BJP with the aim of spreading violence. TMC had called it an attack on Bengali culture. TMC says that BJP does not understand the roots and sentiments of Bengal.

Difference in lifestyle, which raises questions

Fish and meat are an important part of Bengali culture. People do not abstain from non-vegetarian food. Despite being extremely religious, it is mentioned that Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Vivekananda also ate non-vegetarian food. Many BJP leaders give statements against non-vegetarian food. In states where BJP is in government, non-vegetarian food is banned in the areas around temples. TMC also uses this difference for electoral purposes. TMC says that BJP does not fit in the liberal and colorful society of Bengal.

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There is also an issue of central leadership

BJP does not have any big face of the stature of Mamata Banerjee in Bengal. This election often becomes Mamata versus Modi. TMC is successful in setting the narrative that after the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to Delhi, BJP’s rule will be handed over to local leaders but they will not have long administrative experience like Mamata Banerjee. She is succeeding in election after election in showing BJP and BJP leadership as outsiders. From 2014 till now, BJP is far from major success.

Where does North India fail in history?

The history of Bengal has been the history of ‘Renaissance’. This state has been the center of cultural renaissance. Thinkers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Vivekananda, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore laid the foundation of modern India. There were immortal revolutionaries like Subhash Chandra Bose. The leadership of Bengal is proud of its symbols, which TMC succeeds in capitalizing on. Trinamool Congress propagates that it is the ideology of BJP, the leaders of BJP want to change the progressive history of Bengal.