Bengal Bypolls: Of frontrunners, crow and whine.

I haven’t been following the set of by-elections in different states and have no real inferences to draw from results elsewhere. My focus has been very much on West Bengal, which saw two assembly by-elections: Chowringhee and Basirhat South.

When I was growing up, it was often said that Chowringhee was one of the Congress’ safest seats in the country. Located in the heart of Kolkata, it represented and still represents the urban core of our cosmopolitan state capital. In the May 2014 Lok Sabha election, the Congress led in the Chowringhee segment with 35,998 votes. Trinamool was close behind with 34,440 votes, the BJP had 29,500 and the CPI(M) 10,000.

The by-election numbers today throw up an interesting contrast. The CPI(M) has declined still more, to 8,890 votes and finished fourth again. The Congress has slipped badly and declined to 23,317 votes, a loss of 7,000 votes or about 25 per cent of its Lok Sabha tally. The BJP has slipped to reach 23,984 votes and finish second. Trinamool ran away with the seat, getting 38,328 votes.

How Chowringhee voted is an indicator of the continued popularity of Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool in urban areas, particularly in the context of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation election of Summer 2015. It put paid to the BJP’s hopes of a spectacular show in the city. The party had invested a lot of hopes on Chowringhee. Amit Shah, BJP national president, had even cancelled a meeting in north Bengal to come for a canvassing event in Chowringhee.

In the end, it wasn’t enough. Not even the smear campaign run by a section of the media could shake the popular trust that Mamata Banerjee enjoys. In fact, it may have worked to her advantage.

Basirhat South too has not been a traditional Trinamool seat. It was won by a CPI(M) candidate in 2011. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP lost in the overall parliamentary constituency but led in the Basirhat South assembly segment by 32,000 votes. When the CPI(M) MLA died, and a by-election resulted, political analysts were predicting a BJP-CPI(M) fight.

We kept a low profile and picked Dipendu Biswas, a popular local boy and former captain of India’s football team, as our candidate. He campaigned hard and reduced the BJP’s lead of 32,000 to a mere 1,700 votes. The CPI(M), which had won the seat in 2011, ended up third. Seeing the response to Dipendu Biswas, in a typically emotional reaction the party announced him as Trinamool candidate for the 2016 assembly election. I must point out here that the winning BJP nominee was gracious in acknowledging Trinamool’s improved performance and our ability to cut the margin.

All in all, there is now only a battle for the opposition space in Bengal. The 2016 West Bengal election has only one frontrunner: Trinamool. As for some media groups, they can eat crow. It would go well with their whine.

Derek O’Brien
Member of Parliament
Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha and National Spokesperson, Trinamool Congress

The heart and soul of Derek O’Brien & Associates...

Today’s blog is a non-political one and dedicated to a bunch of fine men and women – my 60 colleagues at Derek O’Brien & Associates. They are the heart and soul of my company and have seen it through 25 years of ups and downs, and even a name change!

In the past few days, as political commitments and Parliament have kept me busy, my colleagues have been hard at work. They run 2,500 preliminary events at 1,200 schools across 45 cities for two of our flagship projects: the Vodafone Derek’s Faster, Smarter, Better Challenge and Derek’s YiPPee! Challenge in association with Oxford Bookstore.

Both are knowledge-based shows that test general awareness, soft skills, communication and team-building capabilities and generally seek to equip young boys and girls for the contemporary world. The first of these events is for senior children – classes VIII-XII. The second is for middle-school children – classes V-VII. In February 2015, I will conduct the final rounds of these events.

In the coming weeks, we will also be entering the final stages of the Bournvita Quiz Contest (BQC). An old Indian tradition, which began as a radio programme before migrating to television, the BQC has evolved over the years. The ground-level events are over, having been conducted by my colleagues in 80 cities – who have also researched and set the questions, with constant interaction with me.

In October, we will shoot the 14-episode Tamil version of the finals of the BQC for schools in Tamil Nadu. To be broadcast on Sun TV, this is a challenge for me as my Tamil is very basic. Fortunately, my co-anchor Nisha Krishnan, is an accomplished young lady who helps me out.

After that, we move to the all-India BQC. This year the BQC is set to make a quantum leap. From radio to television was an orbital jump; in 2014, another dramatic change, a world first (I think) awaits it. Do watch out for it. Hopefully my colleagues (with some help from me) will not let you down.

Derek O’Brien
Member of Parliament
Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha and National Spokesperson, Trinamool Congress