Battle for Bengal: Decoding the manifesto war between Trinamool and BJP

As evident from their election manifestos, both the Trinamool Congress and BJP are engaged in competitive populism in West Bengal.

As evident from their election manifestos, both the Trinamool Congress and BJP are engaged in competitive populism in West Bengal. On March 17, Mamata Banerjee released her 10 ‘Ongikars’, with special focus on poor, backward castes and women. Cash doles for select groups stood out in the manifesto as the Trinamool chief promised a slew of schemes if voted back to power. Four days later, the BJP followed suit, trying to woo the same groups through its ‘Sonar Bangla Sankalp Patra 2021’. Union Home minister Amit Shah unveiled the BJP’s manifesto for Bengal, listing out a number of sops to connect with the masses. In an attempt to take the sting out of Mamata’s universal monthly income support for women, the BJP announced 33 per cent reservation for them in government jobs and monthly pension for widows. Mamata has carefully cultivated the woman vote bank over the last 15 years, and BJP is well aware that it needs to split this section for a shot at power. In this endeavour, it has also given tickets to a number of prominent women leaders such as Locket Chatterjee and Agnimitra Paul. But with the announcement of women reservation, the BJP sought to combine “women empowerment” with sufficient employment opportunities for them.