By Jayanta Ghosal
On Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee filed her nomination in Bhabanipur amid allegations of a large number of names having been deleted from the voter list. The question now being widely discussed in political circles is: what will be her combat strategy in the middle of this crisis?
Mamata Banerjee filed her nomination after leading a massive padayatra (foot march) in Bhabanipur. During the march, long lines of people joined the procession, turning it into a huge political show of strength. Banerjee addressed the gathering, declaring her desire to ensure that the electoral roll does not remove a single genuine voter. But she also noted that the Election Commission can’t guarantee that. Because of this uncertainty, Mamata Banerjee indicated that she may once again approach the court. According to sources, the Chief Minister has already expressed, even in off-record conversations, that she might have to seek legal intervention again. But time is extremely short, as the election schedule is already fixed. Polling will take place on April 23 and April 29, while the results will be declared on May 4.
The Election Commission has maintained that once the voter list has been finalised and deletions have been made, no further changes can be carried out. The matter has already reached the Supreme Court, and according to the current position, no fresh names can be added once the final list has been published. Mamata Banerjee has strongly challenged this position and has indicated that she is ready to go back to court again.
The larger political question now revolves around what strategy she will adopt to fight this battle. There is little doubt that Mamata Banerjee possesses a reputation for fighting difficult political battles. Many in the Trinamool Congress argue that the BJP is attempting to trap her in a political “Chakravyuh,” similar to the legendary formation in the Mahabharata in which Abhimanyu entered but could not find a way out. However, Mamata Banerjee is often described as a politician who has repeatedly managed to break out of such traps throughout her career.
Even when faced with challenging circumstances, she frequently discovers a means to politically rebound. Those close to her believe that the BJP may hope to finish her politically in the 2026 election, but Mamata still possesses a strong fighting spirit. She has always relied on a combative political strategy in challenging situations.
Strategy One: Direct public outreach
One of the key elements of Mamata Banerjee’s strategy will likely be greater direct engagement with the people. She is expected to become more proactive, intensify district-wise campaigning, and strengthen grassroots connectivity. She argues that while institutions and constitutional bodies may function under the influence of Delhi, her real strength lies in organisational capacity and mass support within Bengal.
At the grassroots level, especially in villages, the BJP has not yet built a network that can fully replace the Trinamool Congress. In almost every constituency, TMC leaders have been working continuously for the past five years, distributing welfare benefits and implementing various populist schemes. These programs have directly benefited many sections of the population.
The BJP, on the other hand, was not present at the local level during those five years in the same way, although it is now promising similar welfare initiatives if it comes to power. Mamata Banerjee’s campaign is therefore emphasising the difference between what people are already receiving and what they are only being promised. As she often frames it, there is always a difference between dreams and reality, and she intends to highlight that distinction repeatedly in her public meetings.
In this political era, physical contact and direct outreach remain vital, and Mamata Banerjee plans to rely heavily on that approach.
Strategy Two: Consolidating Muslim and women voters
Another crucial aspect of Mamata Banerjee’s strategy is to keep the Muslim vote united while also strengthening support among women voters. When addressing Muslim communities, her message is very direct, what she describes as a “clear-cut strategy,” or “separating milk from water,” meaning telling the truth plainly.
She tells voters that if they vote for leaders like Humayun Kabir, Asaduddin Owaisi, or the Indian Secular Front led by Abbas Siddiqui, the ultimate beneficiary will be the BJP, because the opposition vote will be divided. In other words, if voters want to prevent the BJP from gaining politically, they should vote for a single party.
Humayun Kabir has reportedly started actively campaigning, utilizing a rented helicopter for his campaign tours. He has even invited Asaduddin Owaisi to join him on these aerial campaign trips, which are scheduled to continue from April until the first week of May. Kabir himself has said that since Mamata Banerjee and Owaisi are using helicopters for campaigning, he will also use a helicopter.
Mamata Banerjee, however, counters this by saying that a helicopter is not the solution in politics — what matters is winning the hearts of voters. She argues that the Muslim vote should not be divided, and the issue remains a central element of her campaign.
Women voters form another major pillar of her electoral strategy. Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been campaigning extensively across Bengal—from Asansol and Durgapur to Bolpur—and has a long campaign itinerary, Mamata Banerjee continues to emphasise the welfare schemes introduced by her government.
In particular, she repeatedly refers to Lakshmir Bhandar, a financial assistance program for women. She tells women voters that even if their sons do not have stable employment, the government is still providing them financial support through welfare schemes. Mamata believes that large sections of poor and working-class women, especially those engaged in domestic work or informal labour, remain strongly loyal to her.
This group forms a large and influential community across Bengal. Many of these women work as domestic service providers in households, and historically, they have supported Mamata Banerjee. Even during her tenure as railway minister, she introduced free travel passes for certain groups of workers, which strengthened her connection with them. Since then, in many constituencies and across the state, these service workers have remained politically supportive of her leadership.
Strategy Three: Reaching out to Hindu voters
A third important strategy involves reaching out to Hindu voters. Mamata Banerjee has begun highlighting the work her government has done for religious and spiritual institutions, including Ramakrishna Mission, Bharat Sevashram Sangha, ISKCON, and other spiritual organisations. During rallies, her campaign presents a kind of “report card” of government support given to temples, monasteries, and religious missions.
This outreach is significant because the BJP is also aware that forming a government in West Bengal requires securing a large share of the Hindu vote. With Hindus making up roughly seventy per cent of the population, even the BJP knows that winning at least around forty-five per cent of that vote is necessary for forming a government.
For that reason, Mamata Banerjee is not relying solely on Muslim support. She is also attempting to maintain continuous engagement with Hindu voters.
For example, during Eid celebrations, she was seen among people offering prayers on the streets, but immediately afterwards, she visited the Bagla Maa temple in Kolkata and also went to the Kalighat temple. The BJP has also begun visiting Kalighat temple frequently, with leaders ranging from Suvendu Adhikari to Kangana Ranaut making appearances there. However, Trinamool leaders point out that Mamata Banerjee has been regularly doing these visits for the past two years.
The BJP argues that Mamata is merely imitating its approach, but regardless of that accusation, her campaign is clearly attempting to address Hindu sentiments as well.
The voter list controversy
The deletion of nearly one crore names from the voter list has become a major campaign issue. Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly asked how many of those deleted names actually belonged to illegal Bangladeshi or Rohingya infiltrators, because that was the justification initially cited for the revision.
She argues that many genuine voters, particularly Muslims, have had their names removed from the list, and she alleges that the exercise was carried out as a political conspiracy to remove voters believed to support the Trinamool Congress.
In addition to the impoverished group, SIR has affected many affluent people. Among them is the renowned public thinker and cardiac expert Dr Kunal Sarkar. In addition to him, renowned Jadavpur University professor Sukanta Chowdhury says something similar. He asserts that a large number of legitimate Bengali ballots have been removed from the voter list as a result of the uproar and demonstrations around the infiltrators and Rohiyangas. Many of the SIR victims lack the language and acceptance of the Rohiyangas.
Fighting for Bengali identity is the final component in Mamata’s war strategy. She claims that Bengali identity is in jeopardy and that Bengal will completely become a vegetarian state if the BJP were to win.
The BJP is prepared with fresh tactics as the election approaches. TMC is preparing for the PM’s impending visit to Bengal, which would bring fresh tactics.
In an effort to persuade people that the voter-list alteration was political in nature rather than merely administrative, Mamata Banerjee has made this claim a central component of her campaign narrative.
