Bypoll sweep | TMC on fast-track for Assembly elections while Oppn gapes

The ruling Trinamool Congress is all set to ratchet up welfarism and enhance public outreach, setting a stiffer challenge for the 2026 assembly elections for the opposition parties who are struggling to land on their feet.

The results of the just-concluded by-elections for the six assembly seats in West Bengal showed that the Opposition still remains a feeble challenger to the TMC juggernaut despite the outrage over the RG Kar rape-and-murder case and allegations of criminalisation of politics.

TMC win against many perceived odds

Though the Opposition is trying to put on a brave face pointing out that byelection results in most cases tend to go in favour of the ruling dispensation, the scale of TMC’s victory against many perceived odds should cause them great concern.

Also Read: TMC triumphs Bengal by-polls as infighting leaves BJP fractured

The Left Front candidates lost their security deposits in all the seats. The BJP too failed to put up a fight in any of the six seats, including in Madarihat, the seat the party had been winning since 2016. The saffron party also got a lead of around 11,000 votes from the assembly segment in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This time, the TMC won the seat by a margin of over 28,000 votes, securing more than 54 per cent of the votes.

Not allowing itself to become complacent by the overwhelming victory, the TMC has started its preparations for the assembly elections to be held within one-and-a-half years.

Scheme for MSMEs next month

Mamata Banerjee’s TMC government is likely to introduce next month a scheme to boost small and medium-scale industries in the state as the government has been often pilloried by critics for its failure to usher in industrial growth, leading to large-scale migration of youth out of the state.

The objective of the scheme would be to reach out to entrepreneurs with the target of sponsoring at least two lakh applications under Bhabishyat Credit Card scheme and to enlist at least five lakh artisans and weavers with the state government.

Under the micro business credit card scheme launched last year, the state government turns guarantor for a loan up to ₹5 lakh for an unemployed youth to set up business.

Also Read: Bengal bypolls: RG Kar protests fail to dent TMC’s vote bank

The new initiative to be launched in December will encourage at least five lakh existing MSMEs to obtain Udyam registrations, according to government sources.

“We will be holding camps in every block and municipality area from December 2 to reach out to the entrepreneurs,” said an official of the industry department.

Pending mutation, conversion, power connection, pollution clearance, fire clearance, etc. would be cleared at the door-step camps, the official added.

Welfare schemes responsible for electoral success

The party’s back-to-back electoral successes are attributed to a slew of welfare schemes run by the TMC government.

Continuing with its dole politics, the state government will release the first instalment of ₹60,000 each to the 12 lakh beneficiaries under the Banglar Awas Yojana from December 15.

It has decided to release the funds from its own kitty as the Centre stopped releasing money for the housing scheme in West Bengal.

The TMC government will not stop just at funding the scheme. The party at its national working committee meeting on Monday (November 25) decided to hit the streets against what it called the “Centre’s discriminatory attitude” towards Bengal.

Also Read: Accept Mamata as INDIA bloc leader: TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee tells Congress

The meeting at the party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence lined up another outreach programme called manusher sathe, manusher pashe (With the people, beside the people).

The aim of the drive would be to reach out to the youth with the party’s history since its inception in 1998 and Mamata Banerjee’s “struggle” against the Left Front regime.

Abhishek Banerjee to meet doctors 

The TMC national general secretary and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee will interact with doctors from across the state at a summit on November 30. The meeting is seen as an attempt by the party to reach out to the doctors’ fraternity who were up in arms against the government over the RG Kar incident. Over 500 doctors from government as well as private hospitals of the state are expected to attend the summit.

Even as the TMC has been quick off the starting blocks in the race for the 2026 assembly elections, its two main challengers the BJP and the Left Front are yet to get their act together.

BJP infighting intensifies

The BJP’s defeat in the by-elections has further intensified the infighting in the party. Former state president Tathagata Roy pointed fingers at the party’s leadership for the electoral debacle.

“West Bengal BJP is a tottering house that continues to be the 2nd party in the state, not because of its organisation but by blind support of a section of the Hindu public. It is unimaginable that in a state like West Bengal, the BJP is run by a part-time president who doubles as a Minister of State at the centre,” wrote Roy in a post on X, calling for the removal of the BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar.

Also Read: Bengal bypolls: RG Kar rape-murder has zero impact on TMC vote bank

“Inaction in the face of clearly-provable cases against Abhishek have convinced the people that there is an understanding between Mamata and the central leadership. Unless this is reversed, the BJP has no hope in the state. Mamata has crafted a narrative that BJP is a Hindi-speaking anti-Bengali party. Unless a counter-narrative is devised, Mamata will rule West Bengal forever,” he added.

Another former state president Dilip Ghosh also blamed the party’s weak organisation for the poor results.

BJP’s state general secretary Agnimitra Paul on Monday said the party needs an “uncompromising president” in Bengal.

Several other party leaders called for serious introspection of the result.

Left Front clueless

The Left Front too appears clueless about how to stop the TMC’s free run. The CPI (M), the main constituent of the front, is looking for a “political analyst” to chart the party’s revival.

Also Read: WB bypolls: It's TMC vs BJP contest again as Left Front loses fizz

It has put up a job advertisement seeking a suitable candidate with “four to eight years of experience” for the post as the party is looking beyond the comrades to reverse its dwindling electoral fortunes.

Clearly, the Opposition parties in Bengal are staring at uphill tasks.