In West Bengal, the real battle is between SIR & anti-incumbency
- Shikha Mukerjee
- TNN Apr 20, 2026, 15:43 IST IST
Defending her bastion of West Bengal for the fourth time to extend her term by another five years to 20 years was never meant to be easy for Mamata Banerjee. She was up against a formidable challenger, the Bharatiya Janata Party, its redoubtable election-winning organisation and bottomless resources and its star campaigner, Narendra Modi.
For five years from 2021, Banerjee had been preparing for the fight to unseat her. Incidents that brought people spontaneously out into the streets like the rape and murder of a junior doctor working at the staterun R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, the rape of a student inside the college premises in Kasba, in south Kolkata, metres from the police station and a continuous flow of incidents of violence against women in rural areas had resulted in a spike in the prevailing discontent. She may have hit the streets to demand justice for the R G Kar victim, but that did not cut ice with voters nursing anti-incumbency sentiments.
For five years from 2021, Banerjee had been preparing for the fight to unseat her. Incidents that brought people spontaneously out into the streets like the rape and murder of a junior doctor working at the staterun R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, the rape of a student inside the college premises in Kasba, in south Kolkata, metres from the police station and a continuous flow of incidents of violence against women in rural areas had resulted in a spike in the prevailing discontent. She may have hit the streets to demand justice for the R G Kar victim, but that did not cut ice with voters nursing anti-incumbency sentiments.
