Polarisation, NRC key factors in Bengal bypolls

Kolkata: Religious polarisation, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the vote catching capacity of a renewed Congress-Left Front alliance could be the game changers as principal rivals Trinamool Congress and the BJP battle it out in the bypolls to three Assembly seats in West Bengal to be held on Monday.
The by-elections, the first test of popularity for the state’s political opponents after the Lok Sabha polls, are being held in the backdrop of the tumultuous political developments in Maharashtra.
However, back in Bengal, the bypolls are not going to bring about any change of government, yet that fact has by no means diminished their significance.
In fact, poll watchers feel, with the state’s politics standing at the crossroads, the results and voting trends in the three Assembly constituencies — Kaliaganj, Karimpur and Kharagpur Sadar — could to some extent shape the future course of events in the run up to the 2021 Assembly polls.
The general elections earlier this year saw an unbelievable emergence of the BJP in a state, where it had been shaky and a fringe player for over three and a half decades. The party not only pushed up its seat tally from 2 to 18, but also raised its vote share to 40 per cent, more than double of what it got five years back.
On the other hand, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, which had been winning all elections with a thumping majority since coming to power in 2011, saw its seat count dip to 22 from the 34 it won in 2014. The Congress managed two seats, while the Left Front drew a blank.