RSS camp starves for political or intellectual leadership and hence banks on Dropadi to make Bengal Kurukshetra.Thus,Rs Seventy Five lacs spent on Rupa`s make up van in the Ram Rajya as Bajrangi briigade fails miserably to provoke communal divide till this date in Bengal.
RSS invests heavy some sum to harvest Lotus in Bengal!But makes sure that Mamata should kill Congress as well as the Left!
Mind you, The Modi blitzkrieg unleashed by the BJP before the Lok Sabha polls cost the party over Rs 460 crore in publicity with total spending going up to Rs 712 crore. In comparison Congress spent Rs 486.21 crore, and the NCP was a distant third spending Rs 64.48 crore. Over a decade (2004-2014) funds collected by national political parties increased by 418% while spending increased by 386%.
Thus,the amount spent on Rupa`s make up should not be considered heavy.But it is rather exceptional as so many film stars on elections in Bengal and no party spent their make up vans.
Palash Biswas
It is all the way the BORGI onslaught continued by the Borgi Fauj of the full bloom Peshwa raj as RSS invests heavy some sum to harvest Lotus in Bengal!But BJP is not in a hurry to win Bengal as it targets Bengal for Mamata Banerjee who should win in accordance to RSS game plan so that the Left should lose the fire if it takes the streets against the governance of fascism.
Thus,despite the nautanki with much glamour less politics,BJP plays safe and plans to use Mamata Banerjee as trump card to defeat the left and secular forces as Left is leading the movement countrywide and politically Congress gets stronger day by day.
Modi and BJP president spares Bengal but at the same time lotus harvesting continues.
Thus,after Bihar rout, Prime Minister and Amit Shah will limit rallies in Bengal, BJP will target Mamata and seek to connect with Ramakrishna, Gaudiya missions!
It is rather an entertainment news item that Kamduni to Kakdweep Padyatra costs 75 lac RS to boost the Image of yesterday actress Rupa Ganguli as an alternative to BengalCM Mamata Banerjee who herself is in compromising mode lest she should lose her seat in Bhavanipur.
But it is political all the way as RSS is playing a political Nautanki to assist Mamata Banerjee to kill Congress as well as the Left!
Without the mercy shown by Hindutva governance of fascism,West Bengal secular jehadi face of the Nation,the CM better knwn for Hawai Chappal branded honesty might not win her seat in the next election despite her populist all out measures.
Thus,RSS gets Bengal on lease and it is Geruakaran Merukaran all the way GREEN Signal from the Maa Mati Manush Sarkar and an understanding finalized to bail out RSS from Rajya sabha.
Thus,RSS leaves its claim on Bhavanipur seat where it led in recent civic polls.
Nevertehless,Bengal has not to become yet another Aryawart despite Mamata Modi combination.
Though Bengal grows Lotus for Durgotsav to invoke the goddess,the soil seems not that fertile for a lotus tsunami and RSS knows it better that Left Mahisashur must be killed to stop any resistance against genocide culture!
Thus,Modi Mamata alliance is final to kill the Left as well as Congress.
RSS camp starves for political or intellectual leadership and hence banks on Dropadi to make Bengal Kurukshetra.
Thus,Rs Seventy Five lacs spent on Rupa`s make up van in the Ram Rajya as Bajrangi brigade fails miserably to provoke communal divide till this date in Bengal.
However,it is nothing in comparison to the fashion parades by BJP leaders on political ramp!
Mind you, the Modi blitzkrieg unleashed by the BJP before the Lok Sabha polls cost the party over Rs 460 crore in publicity with total spending going up to Rs 712 crore.
In comparison Congress spent Rs 486.21 crore, and the NCP was a distant third spending Rs 64.48 crore. Over a decade (2004-2014) funds collected by national political parties increased by 418% while spending increased by 386%.'
Thus,the amount spent on Rupa`s make up should not be considered heavy.But it is rather exceptional as so many film stars on elections in Bengal and no party spent their make up vans.
The national parties considered for the report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) are BJP, Congress, BSP, NCP, CPI, and CPM.
Total funds collected by the parties during Lok Sabha elections held in 2004 was Rs 223.80 crore while during LS 2009 elections donations increased by 282%, to Rs 854.89 crore. In 2014 funds increased by 35.53% to Rs 1,158.59 crore.
Meanwhile RSS camp hijacked the two most bright faces from Kamduni,Tumpa and Mousumi Koyal who accompanied Rupa in her image boosting caravan from Kamduni to kakdweep!
Media reports,Tumpa and Mousumi Koyal, the two feisty Kamduni women whose relentlessl fight for justice in the June 2013 rape-murder of their friend brought them into limelight, are now being wooed by all political parties, including the ruling Trinamool, to take the plunge into mainstream politics.
Once branded "Maoists" by chief minister Mamata Banerjee after they questioned her, this Kamduni duo has steered clear of active politics. The road-ahead, however, appears intriguing.
Mousumi and Tumpa have been part of a non-political forum called 'Amra Akranto' that criticizes alleged human rights violations during Mamata Banerjee's tenure. Spearheading this movement is Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra, who was arrested in the dead of night in April 2012 for forwarding a cartoon on the CM.
It was being interpreted in some sections that the forum, for its unstated Left leanings, could be a part of a CPM strategy to coalesce all dissenting voices against the Trinamool regime and therefore, a stepping stone for both women to campaign for the Left. Mousumi's husband Biswajit, incidentally, is an avowed CPM supporter and a reason why Trinamool always eyed them with suspicion.
BJP, however, doesn't believe in such nuanced politics. On Wednesday, the newly anointed BJP state mahila morcha president Roopa Ganguly led a 10-day march from Kamduni to Kakdwip - a 125 km walk - to protest the "increasing" atrocities on women" in Bedngal.
Announcing the 'Kamduni-to-Kakdwip via Park Street Padayatra', Roopa said the march would begin from the home of the Kamduni college girl who was raped and murdered, and end at Kakdwip on February 12. The march, she said, will be held in protest against the spurt in molestation, rape and murder of women across Bengal, she said.
When asked about this, Mousumi said, "She (Roopa) spoke with us over phone. We didn't have a chance to meet her. If she comes to meet us, we will welcome her to our home. But we cannot walk for any political party."
Tumpa also dismissed suggestions that they will ever take the political plunge.
"Anyone who speaks for the development of Kamduni, speaks for us. All we need now is security and development. But this doesn't necessitate our joining any political party. We will continue to do what we have so far - raise our voice in the media and other apolitical forums," she said.
However, Mousumi's recent media statements praising the chief minister appears to be a jarring note in this apolitical script.
Business standard reports:The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), wiser after its experience in Bihar assembly polls, had decided not to 'overexpose' Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its lead campaigner for the forthcoming assembly polls in West Bengal and Assam.
For Bengal, where its principal rival is state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the BJP is planning to turn to its women leaders. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani are slated to address more public meetings than the PM. This will be in some contrast to the BJP's Bihar election campaign in October 2015. Modi was his party's lead campaigner in Bihar, addressing over 30 public rallies.
Party strategists for the two states have been holding several meetings to chalk out BJP's election strategy for Assam and Bengal. The two states are scheduled to go to polls between the first week of April and first week of May. According to party sources, the PM will hold a maximum of 7 to 10 public meetings for the elections to the 294-seat Bengal assembly, likely to take place over six phases. Similarly, Shah, who had addressed over 50 public meetings in Bihar, is unlikely to repeat the performance in Bengal. Even hoardings put up across Bihar, at least initially, had huge pictures of Modi and Shah. This will also be avoided in Bengal and Assam.
BJP believes it needs to invest in shaping its future leadership in Bengal. Seats of its key faces in Bengal – actors Rupa Ganguly and Locket Chatterjee, Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew Chandra Bose and upcoming Bengal unit leaders Ritesh Tiwari and Shamik Bhattacharya – is likely to be announced by February 20.
Party leaders said the reason for fewer Modi-Shah public rallies was primarily "language". They claimed Bengal has fewer people in rural areas who understand Hindi. They said Irani speaks fluent Bengali, while the Bengal unit of BJP has especially requested for Swaraj to address several public rallies given her popularity in the state.
As for Assam, the BJP has already announced its chief ministerial face in state party chief and union minister Sarbananda Sonowal. This is a rarity in recent times. Of the six assembly elections that have taken place since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party had announced its chief ministerial candidate only in Delhi.
The BJP has already started its social media campaign for the two state polls. "Our campaign will definitely highlight the poor law and order and absence of basic democratic rights in the five years of Trinamool Congress rule. But the campaign will primarily be positive. We will highlight the schemes our government at the Centre has launched for farmers and youth," BJP's co-incharge for Bengal Sidharth Nath Singh said.
For its social media campaign, the party is targeting Bengal's 10 million smart phone users. Bengal has an electorate of 60 million. According to data available with the BJP, the state has 37 million mobile phone users.
Indian Express reports:
BJP's Bengal push: Less of Modi, 'softer' Hindutva
After Bihar rout, Prime Minister and Amit Shah will limit rallies in Bengal, BJP will target Mamata and seek to connect with Ramakrishna, Gaudiya missions
The election will be fought on what the party is offering to the state and what the Modi-led government has done so far, they added.
However, as in Bihar, the BJP will not project a chief ministerial candidate.
BJP chief Amit Shah will not address many public rallies either. "This is to give more prominence to state leaders and those who have been working in the state. Besides, language will be an issue for the party chief," said a BJP leader. The state unit has demanded more rallies with Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Smriti Irani, who can speak Bengali. They also want Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to make announcements that would have an "immediate" impact on middle-income voters.
The campaign will, however, still have some elements of earlier ones by the BJP. The BJP will be vocal about the Trinamool Congress government's "appeasement policies" for Muslims. The prime minister will visit Gaudiya Math for its centenary celebrations in Kolkata on February 21, and the party hopes this will send the "right" signals to the Hindus in the state.
The Gaudiya Math and Mission has around 75 lakh followers across the state. BJP leaders say they will play a "soft Hindutva" card by reaching out also to followers of Ramakrishna Mission, which has around one crore followers in Bengal.
Although the focus will be the alleged failures of Mamata Banerjee's government, the party will frame slogans with a positive message.
"We will focus on what the BJP can do where the present and past governments have failed. For example, for the crisis-hit agrarian sector, the party will project the new crop insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, as a solution. Another issue, that of hawkers, can be resolved through micro-financing, which is being offered under the Mudra banking scheme," said Siddharth Nath Singh, BJP national secretary in charge of West Bengal.
BJP general secretary in charge of the state Kailash Vijayvargiya and Singh met Tuesday to discuss the campaign.
A BJP leader said the party has observed that voters in the state have become increasingly disappointed with the "undemocratic" way in which elections are being held. The BJP's theme would be "Ab ki baar adhikar". This means, he explained, that under the BJP the rights of every citizen will be honoured — for women, the issue will be safety; for hawkers; self-financing; for police, self-respect. The party plans to distribute pictures of policemen seeking refuge under a table to escape an attack on a police station in Kolkata recently.
Other slogans will include "Ma, Maati, Manush surakshit nahin hain".
The BJP is also preparing a list of promises made by Mamata, Mukul Roy and Dinesh Trivedi as railway ministers in the past. "They have made many promises, but 90 per cent of them are still unfulfilled," said the leader.
The BJP, which led 24 assembly segments in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and was in second place in 28 others, will also use social media extensively. It has collected data — out of West Bengal's 6 crore voters, one crore have smart phones and 3.7 crore are mobile users, a leader said.
The party is in the process of deciding which constituencies would be ideal for its top leaders such as Rahul Sinha, Rupa Ganguly, Samik Bhattacharya, Locket Chatterjee and Ritesh Tiwari.
Security
The BJP has appealed to the Election Commission for measures to prevent rigging and is hoping the EC will appoint presiding officers from the central forces. There are 77,000 booths in West Bengal.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has already promised that the Centre would deploy as many paramilitary personnel as necessary to ensure a free and fair election.
To defeat Mamata, CPI(M) and Congress weigh some unique alliance strategies
Photo Credit: IANS
The intensely polarised politics in West Bengal is edging closer to an unorthodox flexibility as the Congress and the Left Front, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), separately search for a way for the arch rivals to box in Mamata Banerjee.
The Plan A under consideration in Kolkata and New Delhi is to find a formula to unite against the ruling Trinamool Congress, by abandoning old enmities and establishing a sustainable collaboration for the 2016 assembly election. By extension, the collaboration may carry on till 2019 with the objective of overthrowing the Bharatiya Janata Party from the Centre.
As of now, there is no viable Plan B.
'Extraordinary situation'
Leaders of the Congress from West Bengal officially declared on February 1 that an alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front is the imperative of the times, as a response to the build-up of anti-Trinamool discontent. On December 27, at the Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata, the collective leadership of the CPI(M) raised the same issue, albeit indirectly, by referencing the twin threats to democracy and secularism.
Neither party has a fallback position, except for going their separate ways. If the election is fought on the basis of old political divisions, the Congress and CPI(M) know, the Trinamool Congress will win hands down. More importantly, a significant number of leaders in both parties feel voters may not forgive them for failing to desert old antipathies.
Congress leader Om Prakash Mishra, who kick-started what he describes in donnish jargon as the "discourse", said "we feel there has to be an alliance". His reason: "Neither the Congress nor the CPI(M) can dislodge the TMC on their own". Quoting former CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, he said there is an "extraordinary" situation in West Bengal and it was up to the leadership on both sides to respond with a positive battle plan. In the Congress, there is a clear and present realisation that it is the junior in the proposed partnership with the CPM.
Having consistently advocated that the Trinamool was not a natural ally of the Congress, Mishra's position is that if the Congress contested in 100 seats and the CPI(M)-led Left parties contested in 194, then they could win 200 seats.
The assumption in this proposition is that there would be fluid inter-party transfer of votes, just as happened in Bihar. The transfer of votes would be done by conscious voters, aware of what is at stake and the consequences of sticking to rigidities, he explained. Like in Bihar, the Congress should expect a strike rate of about 80%-plus. What Mishra did not say is that this would put the Congress in place for a "well represented" role in a future government of the Left-Congress.
Tactical understanding
The sentiment in the CPI(M) is harder to gauge, for now. Its Central Committee, the highest decision-making body of the structured party, has listed discussions on the political scenario in West Bengal and the tactics that should be adopted in the forthcoming elections. The meeting is scheduled to enable the State Committee of the party to hold its own rounds of discussions and for the other Left Front partners to draft their resolutions on the situation.
Tension is consequently building as the CPM and its Left partners "explore what could be a state-level alliance or a tactical understanding with like-minded parties" for the purposes of the election.
"Till the Central Committee meets and decides, there is only speculation that the CPI(M) may enter into an understanding with the Congress in West Bengal for the elections," Mohammed Salim, a member of CPI(M) Politburo, hedged. The party has been discussing the idea at different levels and internally and it will be discussed again at the State Committee meeting next week, he said.
There is a sentiment at the grassroots that if the two parties joined forces then it would be possible to dethrone the Trinamool Congress. The sentiment is shared by sections of supporters and members of the CPI(M), those who face violence at the hands of the ruling party on everyday basis in the rural areas, Salim acknowledged. At the same time, Salim conceded that it may not be possible to work out a formal alliance with the Congress. In a party as doctrinaire as the CPI(M), sentiments are not easily converted into officially-approved decisions.
Bold decisions
The dilemma for the CPI(M) is that if it ignores the opinion for a collective effort against the Trinamool Congress, then it puts itself in danger of alienating the voters and loses an opportunity to redeem itself. Still, to engage in a discussion with the Congress on forming an alliance is not something its leaders are comfortable about. Within the party, there is a division. In some districts and in Kolkata, there is a view that joining forces with the Congress is a tactical necessity which should be achieved either through seat adjustments or unwritten understanding. Opponents of this believe that if the CPI(M) were to work with the Congress, it would lose its committed voters. Questions on whether votes could be transferred between the parties are being debated, as are questions about what model of partnership can be created.
In the Congress, some leaders believe that an alliance based on adjusting winnable seats will get the best results. This is a model that has worked in elections to the district-level school boards, madrassa boards and as a tried and tested method has succeeded in defeating the Trinamool Congress at the grassroots level. But in the CPI(M), there is a squeamish resistance to replicating this success. A new formula is therefore under discussion.
If Mausumi Koyal of Kamduni were nominated as the unanimous choice of the CPI(M) and the Congress, if Rupa Ganguly were to contest as an Independent, if other such icons of resistance to the Trinamool Congress were to contest the polls, then all the parties could sink their differences and work together. The tentative list of independents supported by all parties in opposition to the Trinamool Congress is around 26, CPI(M) insiders said. If indeed this is the party's strategy, then the Marxists could well end up in a bigger mess than before.
With at least three different lines of argument raging within the CPI(M), the state committee meeting next week and the central committee meeting the week after will produce no decisions that are tactically bold enough to win the next election.
