By releasing the files, the BJP has scored on the emotional index right before the crucial poll battle
The BJP may not be a serious contender in the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, which are scheduled for April this year, but the party plans to fight it out and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is a master at scoring brownie points and hitting the right notes, seems to have given a headstart to his party’s campaign in the crucial state by declassifying 100 secret files related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on the occasion of the freedom fighter’s 119th birth anniversary on Saturday.
The decision is a masterstroke as the issue has a strong sentimental appeal among people in the country and especially in West Bengal. Therefore, by releasing the files, the BJP has scored on the emotional index right before the crucial electoral battle.
Though the BJP is a non-entity in West Bengal, it had aggressively campaigned in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. While it managed to garner just two seats there, the party has been harbouring hopes of replacing the Left.
The declassification of the Bose files has been a sentimental issue as the freedom fighter’s family and many others related to him have long been demanding the same. Never to miss out on an opportunity, that too a political one, when in October last year Mr Modi had met the family members of Netaji and promised them that the government would start declassifying all the secret files related to him in a phased manner, he had, in a way, unofficially announced the BJP’s election campaign for Bengal elections.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also took the cue and the state government, soon after Mr Modi’s announcement, released 64 files related to Bose late last year. However Mr Modi, who has an impeccable sense of occasion, seems to have stolen a march on Ms Banerjee, at least so far as stirring local sentiments is concerned.
Ms Banerjee’s first reaction after the declassification of the files on Netaji was on seeking the title of “Leader of the Nation” for him. She also sought to know the truth about his mysterious disappearance. However, her reaction clearly indicated that she has been overshadowed by Mr Modi.
The electoral battle in West Bengal, though, would be a difficult proposition for the BJP and Mr Modi.
