DA, jobs trump fears over culture and food

Kolkata: Non-industrialisation, joblessness and often unchecked corruption triumphed over cultural-culinary fears on Monday.Trinamool Congress went to polls with party chief Mamata Banerjee framing the contest as a battle for Bengali identity against a hostile central govt. Tactics included how Bengali migrant workers were being targeted in other states, the BJP's alleged dictates on non-veg food and the Centre's apathy in releasing funds. Their Bengali slogan — ‘Jato karo Hamla, Ebar jitbe Bangla' (however much you attack, this time Bangla will win) — sounds like a confrontation, but its message was something subtler — it turned politics into a sort of Bengali resistance. It suggested that identity was under assault.BJP was quick to respond. When PM Narendra Modi chose to have ‘jhalmuri' at Jhargram, it was not mere optics. When he raised fish debate, the BJP think tank knew exactly what it wanted to achieve. When Bidhannagar BJP candidate Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay walked around with a fish, it was not just optics. Besides BJP's usual ‘Ghusbaithiya' pitch, this was a new line, an attempt to let the voters know that the state will be as culturally rooted as its opponent. When Union home minister Amit Shah declared a son of soil would be the next BJP CM, he was merely putting a stamp on the doctrine.During the last LS poll, Trinamool already conceded leads in over 60% of wards across 125 municipal bodies, including its most prestigious bastions in south Kolkata. The BJP saw its chance and made quick inroads.This time, the identity narrative was eclipsed by four converging grievances — RG Kar tragedy that swiftly evolved from a law-and-order issue into a broad indictment of what critics describe as a culture of impunity within administration, structural unemployment, decaying infrastructure, and the unresolved teachers' recruitment dispute."The city, as the state, was not making much progress. They said ‘khela hobe' and now the game is over," said PhD scholar Aniket Banerjee, who is forced to search for a job outside the state.Former HoD of political science and sociology at Presidency, Prasanta Roy felt anti-incumbency, too, played a role. "The high turnout is due to SIR. But many believe an experiment with the right is a need in Bengal." Assistant professor of sociology at Institute of Development Studies, Supurna Banerjee, said, "The trend shows that opportunism among Bengali-middle class has become fundamental. They have directed their anger at not getting DA or job against people who are more vulnerable than them."
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