Sandeskhali Incident And Its Impact On TMC Vote Bank In West Bengal

The allegation of sexual atrocities on women by TMC leader Shahahan Sheikh and his cohorts created an uproar in TMC’s politics in West Bengal.

The women of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district came out on the streets earlier against the TMC and its leader Shahjahan. They accused the strongman and his aides of land grab and sexual assault under coercion. Shahjahan, the key Sandeshkhali accused is currently behind bars in connection with the attack on a team of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).

Reportedly, the instances of land grabbing and sexual assault are allegedly disenchanting women voters in West Bengal who comprise almost half of the electorate. It is expected that a potential change in the voting block can impact TMC’s ability to counter the rising BJP in the state. Earlier the famous slogan of Ma, Mati, Manush means Mother, land, and people seemed hollow to the people amid the Sandeskhali incident.

Recently, a video of a sting operation related to the Sandeshkhali incident in West Bengal showed a person saying that the Sandeshkhali women, who were not sexually assaulted were projected as rape victims on the instruction of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. The person in the video was identified as Gangadhar Loyal, the Mandal (Block) president, seen saying that Adhikari told him that the Trinamool Congress strongmen in the area would not be arrested unless he is falsely implicated in a rape case. However, the Mandal president claimed later the video was tampered with.

BJP’s party president of the West Bengal unit Sukanta Majumdar said that a large number of women filed complaints with the CBI and submitted affidavits to the court. The West Bengal people are politically conscious and the incident in Sandeshkhali had a huge political impact across West Bengal and altered the views of the women about the TMC. BJP has accused TMC of appeasement politics over the security of women.

The Sandeshkhali controversy presented an opportunity for the Saffron party to challenge TIMC and capitalize on the public outrage. The Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency where Sandeshkhali falls comprises a significant 46 percent Muslim population, which has made a significant portion of TMC’s vote bank. Though the vote shift will not be towards BJP the diversion of TMC votes to Congress or left can increase the prospects of BJP in Basirhat and at other constituencies also.

To take political advantage from the Sandeshkhali incident Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Rekha Patra from Basirhat. Patra is a  a survivor of the West Bengal Sandeshkhali case  and is a resident of Sandeshkhali. Rekha Patra was one of the first women to raise the voice of the Sandeshkhali women against TMC leaders MLA Sheikh Shahjahan, Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar.