Didi Shows A Softer Side

New alignments, new approach: Mamata Banerjee changes tack to take on a belligerent BJP

- Romita Datta

It was June 27 and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was delivering a speech in the assembly when newly elected BJP MLA from Madarihat, Manoj Tigga, shouted “Jai Shri Ram”. As the chief minister paused mid-sentence and the assembly held its breadth in anticipation of an explosion, Mamata surprised everyone by gesturing to her own raging MLAs to keep quiet. She then went on to finish her speech, concluding with a ‘Vande Mataram’, which, she was quick to remind the BJP benches, was written by a Bengali, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya, and that the day happened to be his birthday.

The assembly was stunned, the usually combative Mamata had turned calm, and even accommodating. Indeed, in the past few days, Didi has been humility personified, addressing veteran CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakrabarty as “Sujan da” and senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan as “Mannan bhai”.

The softened attitude has had its rewards. Sujan da and Mannan bhai, hitherto never seen anywhere near the wings of the assembly that house the chief minister’s office, have become frequent visitors to her room, dropping in to chalk out floor coordination strategy over cups of tea and ghugni.

Having lost 12 Lok Sabha seats in the general election, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief has learnt the hard way that by shrinking the political space for the opposition in the state, she has created a political void, which the aggressive BJP has expertly filled.