Did Amit Shah’s M-Factor spoil Mamata Banerjee’s game? The great war broke out in Ranbheri of Bengal: – ..

News India Live, Digital Desk:As the dates of West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 (23 and 29 April) come closer, the political temperature in the state has reached sky high. This time the contest seems to be even more tough than 2021. Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s aggressive siege and the ‘M-factor’ (Muslim appeasement and Matua community) raised by him have posed a big challenge to the strategies of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. There is discussion in the political circles whether this move of BJP will be successful in breaking the impenetrable fort of Didi?

Amit Shah’s ‘M-factor’ and the chessboard of polarization

Amit Shah has intensified his efforts to consolidate Hindu votes by accusing the Mamata government of ‘protection of infiltrators’ and ‘appeasement’ in his rallies. On the other hand, BJP is emphasizing on the implementation of CAA (Citizens Amendment Act) to help the Matua community. Shah claims that this time there will be ‘change’ in Bengal and BJP will form the government by winning more than 170 seats. Experts believe that by using ‘M-factor’, BJP has tried to create a rift in Mamata Banerjee’s traditional vote bank, which may affect TMC’s pre-poll calculations.

Mamata Banerjee’s counterattack: target of ‘crossing 226’

Accepting Amit Shah’s challenge, Mamata Banerjee has raised the slogan of ‘two-thirds majority’ this time. He has claimed that TMC will win more than 226 seats out of 294. Mamta Banerjee has rejected Amit Shah’s allegations and termed it an attack on the culture of Bengal. However, this time she does not have the same ‘visible’ strategic layer that Prashant Kishore’s I-PAC had in 2021, yet with the help of welfare schemes like ‘Lakhi Bhandar’ and her grassroots hold, she is trying her best to stop BJP’s victory chariot.

Corruption and attack on nephew increased tension

This time BJP is making corruption, coal scam and ‘nepotism’ (growing influence of Abhishek Banerjee) the main issues. Amit Shah has directly alleged that Mamata Banerjee’s only objective is to make Abhishek Banerjee the Chief Minister. The recent actions of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI have also fueled the war of ‘Victim Card’ and ‘Agency Politics’ in Bengal politics. Now it remains to be seen whether when the election results come on May 4, the people of Bengal approve of ‘Mamata’s trust’ or turn Amit Shah’s ‘Mission 170’ into reality.