BARELY seven months ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal seemed poised to assume a position to overthrow the ruling Trinamool Congress in the 2021 Assembly election. However, there has been a perceptible change in the State’s political scenario following the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which brought along with it the fear of an impending National Register of Citizens (NRC). The BJP now appears to be on the back foot while the Trinamool, riding on anti-CAA and anti-NRC protest waves, gains momentum.
The CAA, in fact, has created a see-saw situation in Bengal politics: one party seems to be getting an edge over the other, only to lose it and then regain it. With the municipal elections around the corner and the Assembly election scheduled for next year, it is difficult to predict who will finally emerge with an advantage. The BJP’s performance in the Lok Sabha election was extraordinary. It won 18 of the State’s 42 parliamentary seats, wresting 14 from the ruling party and increasing its vote share to a whopping 40.25 per cent. The saffron party, it appeared, was well on its way to dethrone the Trinamool in the next Assembly election. A strong anti-incumbency sentiment, rather than a pro-NarendraModiwave, was working in the BJP’s favour, making the situation all the more precarious for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
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Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
