In last Bengal phase, both TMC and BJP see a common threat: a rejuvenated CPM

After six phases of the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, during which the top two contenders – the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and BJP – had their attention fixed on each other, the two have put the CPI(M) in their crosshairs for the seventh and last phase on June 1.

The reason is that while the CPI(M) could still struggle to win any of the nine seats which vote next – spread across Kolkata and its suburbs – it is seeing somewhat of a revival in alliance with the Congress. The question haunting both the TMC and BJP is whose votes will the CPI(M) cut into.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC had won 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, and the BJP a surprising 18, with the Congress winning the remaining two. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the CPI(M) had again failed to open its account.

In 2019, the BJP surge is believed to have come from Hindu voters moving to the party, which in turn had caused Muslim consolidation behind the TMC – with the CPI(M) losing out on both counts. Some of the traditional Left vote is now seen as having a rethink, with signs of this seen in the panchayat polls last year.

Leaders in both the TMC and BJP camps admitted that they were late to catch on to the realisation that the CPI(M) was doing better than expected. In the last phase seats, which the TMC had dominated in 2019, there are at least two strong CPI(M) candidates in the fray – Sujan Chakraborty in Dum Dum, and Srijan Bhattacharya in Jadavpur.

Two days ago, addressing back-to-back rallies at Barasat and Baruipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already announced that she will help them (the INDIA bloc, including the CPI-M and Congress) in New Delhi. A game is going on behind the