Lok Sabha Polls: Not from Bengal? You’re ‘Inclusive’ Candidate in TMC, But ‘Outsider’ if Fielded by BJP – News18

At least three candidates in the TMC list, released ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, are not Bengalis or residents of West Bengal. The Mamata Banerjee-led party banked on the “outsider” narrative, especially when the BJP fielded non-Bengali candidates from other states, but has itself declared candidates from Gujarat and Bihar.

Senior TMC leaders said the decision was made for the sake of an “inclusive India”, and the party only calls those outsiders who humiliate the state and insult its people. After the list was released, a political slugfest began over the TMC’s decision to include former India cricketer Yusuf Pathan from Gujarat, actor Shatrughan Sinha and cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad from Bihar.

Senior leaders of the BJP attacked the TMC with its own “outsider” jibe, while the TMC talked about “inclusivity”. The party said it does not call a person an outsider based on their domicile, but there were some politicians who wanted to “capture” Bengal with money and muscle power. These, they said, were the “real outsiders”.

“There are instances when senior politicians or important members fought elections from Bengal. Dr BR Ambedkar contested from the state, Krishna Menon also did. We do not call politicians or anyone outsiders unless they insult Bengali culture and the state,” said TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy.

The “outsider” campaign

Even though the political melee continues, a close look at TMC’s electoral history will show that this is the first time the party has fielded three candidates from outside Bengal. In the 2014 and 2019 polls, it did not field anyone whose origin was not Bengal.

In fact, the TMC ran its campaign against “outsider” candidates and leaders as the BJP fielded some candidates, who were not from the state. In the 2021 assembly election, too, its campaign against the BJP revolved around “Banglar meye” (“Bengal’s daughter”) while calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union home minister Amit Shah and other senior leaders “outsiders”.

A senior party leader said the TMC wants to be “inclusive”, and needs national outreach. “We needed to field some famous personalities in politics and other fields who will bring the national narrative to the table and to Parliament. We need to make an outreach to the national voter base as well,” the leader said.

“The BJP has conspired against us and made the EC (Election Commission of India) cancel our national party status. But we will bring it back. We raise issues from all states; we raise issues of India in Parliament; and now we want our MP list to reflect that idea. We need to shrug off the regional party status,” the leader added.

In recent times, TMC nominated Saket Gokhale and sent him to Rajya Sabha as an MP. He is also from Gujarat.