Is BJP doing to Mahua Moitra what Jyoti Basu had 'done' to Mamata Banerjee?

Many political wonks having the vantage of tracking West Bengal’s transition from a communist citadel to a Trinamool Congress (TMC) bastion, often claim it was the late Jyoti Basu who helped Mamata Banerjee grow in political stature.

The Marxist stalwart had in the '90s advertently or inadvertently picked Mamata – then a fledgling but feisty young Congress leader – over her party veterans (like that of ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Pranab Mukherjee, Ajit Panja among others) to be the target of his tirades.

The political tailwind that she got in the process eventually made her emerge as the most credible anti-Communist face in the state, the old timers claim.

Time-bound inquiry

It is too early to predict what would be the political trajectory of TMC MP Mahua Moitra after her expulsion, over the 'cash-for-query' allegations, from the Lok Sabha just months before its term is to end.

Her expulsion by voice vote came after the BJP-led NDA dominated Lok Sabha Ethics Committee’s report recommending the ouster was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday (December 8).

The swiftness with which the country’s ruling dispensation moved to ensure her removal suggests it would try to politically encash the allegations against Moitra.

The Ethics Committee has also made this clear by reportedly recommending a time-bound inquiry into the allegations against her.

“In view of the highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct of Mahua Moitra, the Committee recommends an intense, legal, institutional inquiry by the Government of India in a time-bound manner," media outlets quoted the committee as recommending.

INDIA leaders rally behind Moitra

The INDIA alliance on the other hand rallied behind the TMC MP forsaking the murmurs of dissent heard in their camp after the Congress’s poor showing in the recent Assembly elections in three Hindi-heartland states – Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

The entire Opposition camp led by Sonia Gandhi, gathered with Moitra near the Gandhi statue on the Parliament premises to voice their protest against the expulsion. It was their show of unity.

Moitra could draw comforts for emerging, on the day of her expulsion, as a gravitational figure for the INDIA alliance and a political cause herself.

“She has now been made a political cause for the Opposition as an enduring symbol of victimisation by the BJP for being vocal against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged association with industrialist Gautam Adani,” said political commentator and senior journalist Shikha Mukherjee.

And that she is a woman could be a bonus for the Opposition’s narrative of the BJP being a “misogynist” party, Mukherjee added.

For catapulting her to the political centre stage in the run-up to the general elections due in a few months from now, Moitra could well be thanking the BJP.

The bigger gratification would however be for bolstering her position in her own party. Not too long ago Moitra was admonished by Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a public function amidst speculation that the party was considering clipping her wings.

Last year when she stirred controversy with her comments on goddess Kali, The TMC not only distanced itself from her remarks but also condemned them.

Mamata Banerjee backs Moitra

On the 'cash-for-query' allegations, the TMC was initially pussyfooting on backing her. The moment it realised the political mileage the development could give her it came to her support. She was even made the president of the party’s Krishnanagar organisational district unit last month when the TMC realised that the BJP would not stop short of ousting from the Parliament.

Krishnanagar is the district headquarters of the administrative district of Nadia.

The bordering district with a significant migrant population is very critical for the TMC because the BJP is persistently trying to exploit the issue of migrants to expand its influence.

Her elevation in the TMC’s organisational setup is another instance of how Moitra politically benefitted from the controversy. This has been further reinforced when Banerjee almost confirmed her party nomination from the Krishnanagar parliamentary seat soon after her expulsion.

“Party is totally behind Mahua… We will fight against the BJP’s vindictive politics together with the INDIA alliance. People will give a befitting reply to the BJP for the injustice. Mahua will win (the battle in the people’s court),” Banerjee told reporters.

“I don’t see any reason why she should not be renominated,” the TMC supremo added in reply to a question whether Moitra would get TMC nomination for the ensuing parliamentary elections.

Clearly, in the aftermath of the controversy, Moitra evolved as a prominent anti-BJP face from being the darling of liberal elites for her fiery speeches.

“It is now for her to capitalise from the gain to emerge as a true mass leader,” said political commentator and author Amal Sarkar.

Moitra vows to fight BJP for next 30 years

For that, she needs to take a leaf out of Mamata’s political book on how to turn political narratives into a mass movement.

“I am 49 years old. I will fight you for the next 30 years inside Parliament, outside Parliament, in the gutters, on the streets…. We will see the end of you,” Moitra said after her expulsion, drawing applause from her INDIA colleagues.

Those were strong words. She will now have to translate these into action, and that will be easier said than done.

“Not just the BJP, even the TMC might hesitate to give her the space as a dominant anti-BJP force in the state after Mamata,” pointed out Sarkar.

Banerjee had herself faced a similar realpolitik in the Congress, forcing her to break away from the grand old party in 1998.

Only time will tell the course Moitra will take. As of now, she can bask in her newfound stature as a fighter who stood up to the BJP’s might.