West Bengal Elections 2016: Here's why Mamata won big despite negative pre-poll publicity

'Manufactured outcome'. This is what the opposition and a section of the influential vernacular media sought to do ahead of the West Bengal elections. A hype was created that Didi was on her way out. But finally, the common man has made his voice clear and it is no surprise that many have reposed their faith in Didi for the second successive time.The Left has been reduced to a poor third with TMC even breaching some of the traditional red fortresses of North Bengal. The political viability of the Congress-Left alliance looks bleak and it is back to the drawing board for them. 

Here are some of the major reasons behind the victory of Mamata Banerjee 

Developmental outreach of Mamata govt: 

It's a lesser discussed fact, especially in the English media, but Didi has done substantially well to reach out to her target voters in rural Bengal. Power and water facilities are significantly better. Bengal ranks as one of the top states in social spending. Didi has specially hedged her support among the women by starting schemes like Kanyashree, bicycle for girl students. New colleges and universities have been opened in backward areas. In JangalMahal, the one rupee rice scheme has been a super success. Didi also has, to an extent, managed to quell dissent in the Darjeeling area for a separate Gorkhaland. Despite her volatile nature, Mamata has shown administrative chops in the last 5 years that have gone down well with the commoners. 

Iron-solid party organisation: 

Taking a page from CPI(M)'s playbook, Mamata has built up an impressive party machinery which often works in autopilot and is superbly effectively in delivering the goods. While often allegations of massive infighting have been reported behind the minor satraps, the fact that Didi is the unquestioned single authority meant fights were always nipped before getting out of control. In crunch battleground districts, the robust organisation helped TMC have the edge over the Congress-Left alliance in mobilising core voters better, using force wherever the EC's watch was a little loose. 

Lack of credible opposition face: 

In India, politics is getting increasingly presidential. Be it Namo nationally or Mamata in Bengal, people often vote getting swayed by the charisma of the leader and not necessarily of the ideology or message his/her party is carrying. In West Bengal, Didi repeatedly went to the nook and corner of the state and asked people to vote for her. Mamata said that she is the de-facto candidate in all the 294 seats. Compared to that, the Left-Congress alliance didn't have any matching face. Most of the leaders have a very limited influence beside their districts and no traction in a pan-state basis. Surja Kanta Mishra, who was the unofficial CM candidate of the  alliance is not known for his oratorial flourish. The energy that a Buddhadeb Bhattacharya brought to the cadres was sorely missing in the campaign. 

Not all Congress-Left voters approved of the alliance: 

The final micro numbers are yet to come in, but prima-facie it looks like that there hasn't been a total transference of votes from one party to other. It is hardly unexpected. For many people born and bred in anti-Left ideology, it is hard to bury the hatchet and vote for them so soon. In hindsight, a more structured alliance formed atl east six months earlier could have come as a game-changer. 

TMC got bulk of the BJP votes: 

BJP has failed to retain its votebank after hitting a historic peak of 17% in the 2014 general elections. And the attrition of their votebank has helped the ruling party, especially in urban areas. People who had voted for Namo as PM in 2014 to usher a change have now polled for status-quo in their own state. It's a trend which has now been repeated again after Bihar and Delhi, where voters have chosen powerful regional leaders over BJP despite pledging allegiance to Modi two years back. 

Sarada, Narada failed to stick: 

These issues did dent Mamata's credibility and will probably result in long-term damage of her political goals, but in the short-run, Didi has escaped unscathed despite the Sarada, Narada onslaught. In a way, corruption is not an electoral issue for people in Bengal as most believe that all political parties are compromised to an extent. The fact that Didi hasn't been found to be personally involved has also helped her keep the moral high-ground. 

Overall, the Bengal voters have gone for stability, but the patience of the electorates shouldn't be taken for granted. Mamata needs to take this verdict as her second chance and start putting her house in order. Else, five years down the line, the equation may change dramatically.