Those who were writing Mamata Banerjee’s political obituary after the massive street protests in the wake of the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in August this year, are doubtless astonished by the results of the bypolls in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) won all six assembly seats, snatching one from the BJP, while significantly improving its victory margins in the others.
Cock-a-hoop over its performance, the TMC has been quick to project it as a reaffirmation of its political stranglehold on Bengal and as proof that the Bengal chief minister has weathered the RG Kar storm, and has emerged, not just unscathed, but stronger than ever.
In its triumphalism, the party is now eyeing a national role for its supremo. Senior TMC leaders have been saying that Mamata should become the face of the Opposition because, unlike the Congress, which routinely crumbles before the BJP, as it did in Maharashtra last week, she has demonstrated time and again that she can beat back the march of the saffron party. Expect the demand to grow louder as the TMC flexes its muscles and its numbers in the coming days.
However, one must question whether the TMC’s 6-0 victory in the bypolls is truly an indication of the chief minister’s unshakable hold on power in Bengal.