The fortress has fallen. Forlorn lives hope

Not even the BJP expected its thumping victory in West Bengal. But pleasantly surprised, they scampered off to get some ministers and supporting rhetoric in place. The windfall didn’t stop there, all their obstacles started vanishing by themselves. The BJP found itself in a rose-tinted Sooraj Barjatya film, the script written by their very own Ram and Syam(aprasad) Mookerjee.

While people kept waiting for retaliation from the ‘street fighter’, the miracle-maker Mamata Banerjee, she acted like Ronaldo in a recent World Cup match — concentrating on being invisible.

The Left Front is elated. It won a seat all by itself and another through an ally. It will probably not stop gloating for another five years. It’s almost like breaking into a victory lap after managing to score 4 in maths; just 96 more and it’d be ‘wow!’.

The BJP juggernaut is firing on all cylinders. We vaguely once heard somewhere that a thriving Opposition is essential for a healthy democracy. But no ruling party ever cares for democracy, and even if the prospect of one-party rule seems preposterous, that has been the scenario in Bengal for several decades.

The Left Front had practically no Opposition for most of its 34-year rule. The Congress and later the TMC served as cardboard Opposition, there only to be accused and ridiculed. For longer than one can remember, nobody thought there would ever be a Bengal that wasn’t ruled by Communists, until the Left leaders got too complacent and the cadre turned brutal.

TMC too had a practically Opposition-free run for 15 years when the Congress was non-existent, the CPI(M) was clownish and the BJP was deemed impossible. So, the people of Bengal are no strangers to one-party rule. In fact, they love it. They don’t demand change, until they cannot bear to overlook the atrocities any longer.

It was when the TMC became unbearably corrupt and puffed up with hubris that the people came out in their hordes to defeat it. This time, the beneficiary was the BJP, a party with a radically different idea.

There are theories about the BJP making its opposition disappear — by luring some and intimidating others. But that still does not explain the great haste with which TMC leaders have abandoned their mother-party. It seemed they were escaping a torture chamber (or possible raids by the Enforcement Directorate). Some have formed a rebel faction; some have joined an obscure outfit. Both these camps are widely perceived to be BJP-supported groups whose purpose is to pretend hard to be non-BJP, much to the benefit of meme artists and amusement of the general public.

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So, if the Bengal polity is divided into BJP-A, B, C, a toothless TMC and a staunchly under-ambitious, underachieving CPI(M), will the circus be worth watching? More likely that it will be a dream run for the BJP, which declares that Muslims cannot block Red Road to offer prayer, and then blocks the same road for seven days to do yoga.

The majority is with them, cheering on. The upbeat mood reflects a sense of freedom from the shackles of the previous ruling party, the same sense that was palpable when the Left Front was ousted in 2011. Mamata Banerjee was then seen as the messiah who would deliver Bengal from its red stains. But in a few months, the excitement waned with the realisation that happy endings are restricted to films.

This time, though, the plot may unfold differently. The BJP is a party with political acumen and incredibly deep pockets. Rewards will rain thick and fast. Expect new roads, bridges, airports and other infrastructure. And expect curbs on freedom of speech and personal liberties.

Both prospects are immensely appealing to common people. If water is pure, streets are clean, hospital services cheap, jobs available, why would anybody pay heed to wordmongers, whose contorted lips and deafening decibels are a source of irritation anyway? Bengal is fond of contrarians, but only in theory.

People here award prizes for literature that advocates anarchy, but they won’t tolerate a naysayer who swims against the current of majority opinion and slays holy cows. The BJP will probably ensure this hypersensitivity and allergy intensify, that criticism becomes risky. It will also keep intellectual pets.

As a curtain-raiser, there have been instances of accused persons being paraded semi-clad, the show applauded by the masses and BJP honchos alike. Hawkers have been evicted, their stalls bulldozed, the ‘right to walk’ prioritised over the right to survive. Most people are euphoric at the thought of driving away illegal immigrants from the state.

BJP leaders in the state are declaring zero-tolerance with relish, with stock phrases like ‘nobody will be spared if…’ and ‘people will be taught a lesson if…’ The hoi polloi are ecstatically throwing eggs at TMC leaders. Exclusion seems to be the day’s speciality on the menu and people are finding the humiliation of ‘the other’ sweet.

It seems the whole world is drooling over the same platter — the US and Europe too are besotted with leaders who shout ‘throw them out!’

Polarisation has sunk its roots in Bengal. A section of Hindus believes the TMC appeased Muslims way too much. The BJP is likely to play the ruthless change-maker, it will go after minorities and critics without apology or restraint. The party that advertises bulldozer raj and brags about encounter killings is here finally, and the people couldn’t be happier kissing the iron hand.

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For the Opposition, fighting the BJP will be tough. After all, how do you fight democratic backsliding when its constituents — the people — lap up dictatorial vibes? How can you argue that rights are being trampled when most people believe some people should have no rights?

What this means on the ground is that the Left can keep harping on a non-communal, pro-poor agenda, but it will appear too soft and abstract to most people. The TMC lacks bite and ideology was never its forte. Demands for development won’t fly either when flyovers are being built everywhere. So, the opposition is checkmated and the BJP’s double-engine sarkar, flush with cash and medieval ferocity, can chug along merrily.

But if hubris starts contaminating the fuel that drives the double-engine steamroller, if the BJP starts taking things for granted, loses its grip on reality, it might end up in the same heap as its two predecessors in Bengal. Then the Opposition can make its move.

Leaders who wield the whip tend to lose track of the moment when the whip takes over and starts wielding the hand.

That scenario is in ‘If-land’. A new leader, a new party can emerge, upending all predictions. A new situation may change the entire story and prove everybody wrong. But going by the way the earth is spinning now, the match is for the BJP to lose.

Chandril Bhattacharya is a lyricist, poet, essayist and filmmaker from Kolkata