Aday after Union home minister Amit Shah sounded the poll bugle for the 2021 Assembly elections in Bengal, the ruling party Trinamul Congress, too, has begun gearing up to ensure a third successive term for chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The 2021 Assembly poll will be a “tight battle” between the ruling party and the BJP with TMC having a clear edge, said a senior leader of Trinamul Congress.

“We too have to go all out against the Centre’s National Register of citizens (NRC), Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Population Register (NPR). It’s a national issue, and our party supremo Mamata Banerjee was first to hit the streets against such a move. NRC and CAA are a two-pronged programme~ if we can use them effectively, we will win.”

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A veteran Trinamul leader and MP, requesting anonymity, said: “I feel that 2021 Assembly poll won’t be a cakewalk for TMC.” The leader said, “It would be a bipolar election, and when Modi and Amit Shah will come with all their resources, Central forces and money power, it would be a tight battle. But, I think TMC will emerge victorious.”

“We should remember that we have to fight Modi-Shah and not local BJP leaders like Dilip Ghosh, Mukul Roy or Kailash Vijayvargiya”, he added. During the Assembly by-polls, TMC won all three seats by defeating the BJP in Kaliagunj, Kharagpur and Karimpur, he said. In Kharagpur, while Dilip Ghosh became MP in 2019, his party candidate lost to TMC in the Assembly by-polls.

A party insider said, “The BJP was able to make inroads in 2019 Lok Sabha polls because of the rampant corrupt practices and rank high-handedness of some of our district leaders, and as a result, BJP capitalised on this and won as many as 18 seats.” When told that Amit Shah did not project anyone as the BJP’s chief ministerial face in Bengal, the party insider said, “If the name is declared before the polls, it would be easy for the TMC as it will be a fight between Mamata Banerjee and that particular chief minister candidate from BJP.

If like Delhi, they do not project anyone as a chief ministerial candidate before the polls, then it will be a straight fight between Modi and Mamata,” he said. Asked whether polarisation would be a significant factor before the polls, the Trinamul MP said “Polarisation is not the sole factor that will sway the mood of the voters. Home to home delivery of different government development projects and beneficial schemes will be the deciding factor during the state elections.”