Mamata’s urban headache: City folk in Bengal have begun to switch sides rather quickly

Why have erstwhile Left bastions like Medinipur and Hooghly, once represented by powerful Communist leaders such as Indrajit Gupta and Roopchand Pal, switched political sides twice in quick succession?

Why have erstwhile Left bastions like Medinipur and Hooghly, once represented by powerful Communist leaders such as Indrajit Gupta and Roopchand Pal, switched political sides twice in quick succession? And how did the BJP win Malda North, once considered the Congress’ fortress, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections? The common thread that runs across all the areas that has seen a big political churning in the state is the brisk pace of urbanisation in recent years. As a whole too, the state witnessed rapid urbanisation between 2001 and 2011. While the proportion of urban population in the state saw a marginal growth of just 4.1 per cent between 1951 and 2001, the next 10 years saw a quantum leap, with a growth almost equal to the preceding 50 years, according to analysis of Census data.