The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) pulled off a thunderous win in Bengal, ending the 15-year reign of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, winning a stunning 206 seats in the 294-member assembly. This will be the first time that the BJP will form a government in Bengal. The rise of the BJP is staggering, given that the party had a vote share of a mere 4 percent in 2011. After continuous efforts to reach the masses, the party saw the vote share jump to 40 percent in 2019. In 2021, it won 77 seats to become the leader of the opposition. Given their steady growth, the results should not come as a surprise to many.
How the BJP Used Football and Cricket As Tools To Sweep Bengal
Football is big in Bengal, and fans are emotionally connected to the sport. The BJP’s smart tactics allowed them to use it as a tool to reach the masses. The Narendra Cup saw participation from 1,200 men’s teams and 18,000 players. Nearly 1 lakh players were distributed jerseys and t-shirts. Over 80 thousand footballs were given to the players. The BJP organized the women’s tournament separately, which saw participation from 253 teams, to target the women voters. The party also distributed over 5000 cricket bats with a photo of PM Modi. The strategies helped the party reach the youth and dent Mamata Banerjee’s bastion.
The Lionel Messi Factor
Following TMC’s defeat in state elections, Lionel Messi started trending in India, and many believe that the mismanagement of the event at Salt Lake Stadium was one of the main reasons for the defeat. For the unversed, Messi visited India in December last year during the GOAT tour. The fans turned out in large numbers, but the mismanagement led to Messi leaving the venue early, leading to chaos, with fans throwing chairs and bottles onto the field while the infrastructure in the stadium was severely damaged. Aroop Biswas, who was the sports minister at that time, lost from the Tollyganj seat.
