BJP's Revival Path ::: Collapse of Bengali culture and Decades of Political Decay

As West Bengal heads for 2026 elections, the collapse of Bengali culture and decades of political decay pose a sharp test for the BJP’s revival pitch.

Kolkata

Unlike its glorious intellectual and cultural past, West Bengal today is often described as a landscape of violence, turmoil, and persistent economic stagnation. The state that once produced Tagore, Vivekananda, Nazrul Islam, Satyajit Ray and Amartya Sen is now better known nationally for political killings, flight of capital, and social intimidation.

This decline did not happen overnight. Critics argue that the seeds were sown during the 34-year Left Front rule (1977–2011) and deepened under the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government led by Mamata Banerjee since 2011. The cumulative effect, they say, has been the collapse of Bengali culture as a confident, plural, and intellectually vibrant force.

Ironically, it is this vacuum that allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to emerge as a serious challenger. Through sustained grassroots work, the BJP expanded its base among Rajbongshis, Namasudras, Matuas, Koch-Rajbongshis, smaller Adivasi groups, Christians, Gorkhas in the hills, and rural poor in districts like Bankura, Purulia, Birbhum, and Jhargram—despite its Hindutva-centric politics.

Many among these groups believe that appeasement politics, practised first by the Left and later intensified by the TMC, made sections of Muslims politically assertive at the cost of SC, ST, and OBC Hindus in rural Bengal. Resentment also grew over allegations that Muslim communities cornered a disproportionate share of OBC quota benefits.

At the same time, Bengal’s traditional bhadralok elite—Brahmins, Kayasthas, and Baidyas, together less than a fifth of the population—continued to dominate academia, culture, media, and administration. For vast sections at the margins, the BJP became a vehicle of protest against this entrenched hierarchy.

Yet, the BJP’s challenge goes far beyond arithmetic. The Partition of Bengal, which inflicted disproportionate suffering on the poor and lower castes, still shapes the state’s psyche. Cultural identity here is layered, emotional, and deeply suspicious of ideological imposition.

As the 2026 Assembly election approaches, these tensions are being discussed—often in veiled terms. While the Left is remembered for ideological rigidity and economic decay, the TMC is increasingly accused of cultivating a “threat culture” marked by political violence and the erosion of free thought.

“The Mamata government is intolerant of dissent and quick to use the state machinery to silence critics,” says Sujit Ghosh, a Kolkata-based taxi operator. Aurobindo Sen, a retired banker, agrees, noting that the use of intimidation and “rowdyism” shows troubling continuity from the Left era.

Economically, the story remains bleak. Industrial investment continues to elude Bengal, reinforcing cultural stagnation and youth migration. This raises a central electoral question: can ‘poriborton’ truly happen under the BJP?

The BJP, however, carries its own baggage. Past missteps by senior leaders helped Mamata Banerjee build a narrative that the party does not understand Bengal’s ethos. Several central leaders have stumbled over Bengal’s history, language, and cultural icons—fuel for TMC propaganda.

Former BJP president J P Nadda’s erroneous remark that Rabindranath Tagore was born in Santiniketan became emblematic of this disconnect. 

Critics further argue that the BJP’s Hindi-centric, nationalistic rhetoric, especially on issues like “infiltrators,” clashes with Bengal’s plural traditions shaped by figures such as Kazi Nazrul Islam.

This sets the stage for 2026. The election may not merely be about governance or corruption—it could well become a referendum on whether Bengali culture can be revived, and by whom.

The BJP’s dilemma is stark: can it promise cultural renewal without appearing culturally alien? The answer may decide whether Bengal witnesses another cycle of continuity—or a genuine rupture with its recent past.

(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are author’s own)

(Courtesy - The Raisina Hills)