Common factors in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu State elections in India

Accusations and mutual allegations warfare in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal

Elections are taking place in five states in India namely Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Union Territory of Pondicherry. Amongst these regions, elections are being bitterly fought in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal with no holds barred campaign. Accusations and mutual allegations between the political leaders belonging to different parties are being made with or without basis. Foul languages are liberally being used.

One member of Parliament belonging to the opposition party in Tamil Nadu went to the ugliest extent of questioning the birth of the Chief Minister and shamelessly stating that it was due to the illicit relationship of his mother. In West Bengal, the Chief Minister of the state has been using extremely foul language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not leaving even Modi’s mother in making derogatory remarks.

Some pre-poll predictions have opined that DMK in Tamil Nadu would win with a massive majority and Mamata Banerjee would also win by a slender majority.

There is a huge concern today about the outcome of elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The concern is what Mamata Banerjee would do and how she would react if she loses the election? Almost similarly, there is a concern as to how DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and its electoral allies would behave and what would be the priorities, if DMK were to win the election?

It is well-known that Mamata Banerjee is an unpredictable politician and has repeatedly shown in the past that she is prone to extremely negative reactions and emotional outbursts. On several occasions, she has walked out of the meetings and press conferences, with the least care as to what others would think about her behaviour.

Even as the campaign is now going on in West Bengal vigorously, Mamata Banerjee has been accusing the election commission of showing bias and favouritism and acting against the interest of her party. Possibly, she is preparing grounds to say that the election has been rigged, in case she were to lose the election. She has always boasted herself as a street fighter and some people are concerned that she may resort to launching massive and violent agitation against what she would call a rigged election, in case she were to lose the election. She is unlikely to mind even if it would cost bloodshed and sufferings to common people and seriously disrupt the law and order. Some people even go to the extent of thinking that if she were to lose, she would give a call that Bengalis should stay united whether they are in West Bengal or Bangladesh. She is already stating repeatedly that outsiders from other parts of the country should not be in power in West Bengal. Not sure whether she would go to such an extreme level but her past reactions to many situations create suspicion that she may well resort to such tactics. This is why some concerned people have said that West Bengal should not go the “Kashmir way”.

In the case of Tamil Nadu, DMK was originally a party that advocated a separate country for what they called as Dravidian region.

There are some allies in the DMK party who have been stating that the Sri Lankan Tamils and people in Tamil Nadu should be together, which obviously means carving out a separate country for Tamils in Sri Lanka, which would virtually mean dividing Sri Lanka into two countries. DMK and allies have been thriving on what looks like essentially a hate campaign against the Hindi language, which virtually can be interpreted as a campaign against the Hindi speaking regions. In case the DMK would win, will the DMK party and its electoral allies start a campaign asking for a separate identity for Tamil Nadu similar to what separatists in Kashmir are demanding? One would not know whether the DMK party would resort to such extreme behaviour if it were to win the election. Certainly, there is some concern at least in some quarters.

Some pre-poll predictions have opined that DMK in Tamil Nadu would win with a massive majority and Mamata Banerjee would also win by a slender majority.

If Mamata Banerjee were to win, there would be no need for her to complain about the rigging of polls but would still continue to use abusive language, perhaps thinking that her capacity to use abusive language has been approved by the people.

If in Tamil Nadu, DMK and its electoral allies were to win, one has to keep his fingers crossed about the political climate in the days to come in Tamil Nadu.

Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.