In neighbouring West Bengal too, the ruling Trinamool Congress holds on to its 2009 strength, particularly in the rural parts of the State. This is despite a sharp drop in people’s net satisfaction with Mamata Banerjee’s government from 70 in July 2011 to just 8 now. One would have imagined that with dissatisfaction with the Trinamool Congress rising, its main rival, the CPI (M) led Left Front would be the direct beneficiary. However that does not seem to be happening on the ground. The survey reveals that if parliamentary elections were to take place now, the Left Front would not be in a position to improve on its 2009 performance. The Left’s support among Muslims is down compared to both the 2009 Lok Sabha and the 2011 Assembly elections. Moreover, among the 42 per cent respondents who are dissatisfied with Mamata Banerjee’s government only about half said they would vote for the Left, with the rest mostly favouring the Congress. So, Left parties are projected to get 28 percent of the votes, down 15 percentage points since 2009. Trinamool Congress on the other hand is expected to get about one third of the popular vote in the State. The main beneficiaries of dissatisfaction with State government are the Congress and BJP. The Congress is not only retaining its control over the Northern parts of the State, its traditional stronghold, but it is also giving a tough fight to both the Trinamool and the Left in the Greater Kolkata region. This is also the region where the BJP seems to be making substantial inroads. Some highly urbanized parts of Bengal seem to be witnessing a four-way split among the Congress, BJP, Trinamool and the Left.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 17:51:37 +0000
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