Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee announced actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha as a candidate for the Asansol Lok Sabha by-poll. While Sinha is yet to officially join TMC, his candidature has been the talk of the town.
Sinha, nicknamed Shotgun in the film industry, has been a veteran in the world of politics and was an integral part of the BJP, especially during the Vajpayee era where he served as a union minister.
He also had an unsuccessful stint in the Congress where he lost to Ravi Shankar Prasad in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the Patna Sahib constituency. He has been in the sidelines of politics ever since.
But TMC roping in Sinha can prove to be beneficial in several ways, especially given the party’s national expansion plans.
National Ambition ka Shotgun
TMC has been inducting national level leaders for some time now, which include prominent names like Sushmita Dev, Luizinho Faleiro, Yashwant Sinha and now Shatrughan Sinha.
The common denominator between these leaders is that they have national prominence and have been political veterans. So, they not only bring to the table some sort of following, but also several years of experience which translate to expertise.
This directly helps the TMC in its national expansion. If Sinha wins the election, it would give the TMC a strong orator in Parliament that too one fluent in Hindi.
Banerjee, who herself had broken away from the Congress to form the TMC and the core of her party too were originally from the Congress, has been recruiting leaders from BJP and the Congress. This can be seen as not only her openly challenging the two parties, but also an overture to fence sitters.
Sinha, who has been an integral part of the BJP at a certain point in time, understands how the BJP functions can also help the TMC better strategize how to beat the saffron party.
Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha, both of whom played a key role in the BJP especially during the Vajpayee-era, had been miffed after Modi-Shah came to power, and they will have a bone to pick with the duo.
TMC also has a history of inducting celebrities as candidates and Sinha fits that bill perfectly too, which gives him a mass-appeal.
The Hindi-Speaking Bihari Who Says He is ’No Less Bengali’
The BJP has attacked the TMC over nominating Sinha has a candidate by calling him an ‘outsider’. Sinha replied, in an interview to PTI saying that he is ‘no less Bengali than any other Bengali’.
Sinha might not be from Bengal, but the party has very strategically placed him from Asansol, which is dominated by Hindi-speaking voters (over 50% of the electorate). Sinha is a Bollywood actor who has a mass appeal amongst Hindi-speakers. Sinha, with his mass-appeal has a great chance of connecting with that voter base there.
Another big reason behind fielding Sinha from Asansol is to ease out ex-BJP leader Babul Surpiyo from the region.
Calming a Polarized Crowd
The voter base in Asansol has been highly polarized after the Left-bastion had given way to the BJP. Asansol, which has over 50% non-Bengalis and 15% minorities, have mostly seen the non-Bengali vote go towards the BJP. Fielding Sinha can neutralize that polarization to a good extent.
BJP gaining votes in Asansol has been attributed to the communal polarization in the area, of which Supriyo has played a big part.
The BJP-VHP has penetrated the area very well, thanks to the Hindi-speaking businesspersons who inhabit the area. This has led to identity and religious politics playing a more dominant role in the area. The TMC there have often been accused of favouring Muslims in the area.
By Removing Supriyo from the scenario and placing a more neutral figure like Shatrughan Sinha, the TMC hopes to ease the polarisation there and attract more non-Bengali voters in the area.
Meanwhile, Supriyo has been fielded from Ballygunge in Kolkata for the Assembly by-polls, which also boast of a dominant non-Bengali population. However, Kolkata is Mamata Banerjee’s bastion, and despite his influence, Supriyo will be at the mercy of the TMC supremo.
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