Muted saffron shades, visibility sparse: TMC leads over BJP on one front in battle Bengal | Ground report

WIth voting years aside in westward Bengal, calcutta offers an betimes glimpse into the upcoming assembly elections - a mixed voter mood on the outcome of the contest between Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. But as I roamed the streets of the capital, one thing was evidently clear, chief minister Mamata Banerjee's TMC has taken a clear lead in one battle - the poster gameThe TMC, whose biggest rival in the state is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has established a dominant visual presence. Posters featuring Mamata Banerjee and other party candidates line arterial roads, neighbourhood lanes, and public spaces, appearing almost omnipresent in daily life. The scale and saturation of this poster campaign stand out, particularly when compared with the BJP’s relatively restrained visibility in the same format.Another noticeable element of the BJP’s poster game is its light use of saffron shades. Voting for the 294-seat West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases — on April 23 and April 29 — while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4, alongside that of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.If I were to explain the Bengal battle in brief, it is primarily a BJP versus TMC contest, with the former trying to achieve its long-sought goal of unseating the Mamata Banerjee-led government.Of the 294 seats, Bhowanipore holds particular importance as it is where BJP candidate and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, is taking on Mamata Banerjee, whose close aide he once was. Bhowanipore offered a snapshot of the contrasting campaign strategies adopted by the state’s principal political rivals, the BJP and the TMC.Inside BhowaniporeA walk through Bhowanipore’s streets revealed a layered political landscape, where visibility, messaging, and ground-level mobilisation appear to be unfolding along different tracks.While in the rest of Kolkata the BJP’s poster presence appeared muted, in Bhowanipore the party’s visibility took on a more localised intensity.Party posters and flags bearing “Jai Shri Ram” are visible in pockets, especially closer to organisational hubs. Notably, BJP campaign materials here appear to use a lighter colour palette, with a greater emphasis on white tones rather than the party’s traditional saffron-heavy imagery. A volunteer at the party office in Bhowanipore told me that the focus is on door-to-door campaigns rather than display.Another BJP worker, Abhishek Shaw, criticised Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, saying people are now tired of it.“This seat [Bhowanipore] has belonged to the TMC for decades — in fact, it has personally been Mamata Banerjee’s seat. Even then, you will commonly meet people who, after speaking to them, make you feel that people are now tired of the TMC. The kind of oppression and actions they have carried out against the common man — the harassment faced by ordinary citizens — has left people frustrated and exhausted,” Shaw said. People frequently talk about syndicate raj, hooliganism, and forced extortion, Shaw alleged. He added that even though this is Mamata Banerjee’s own constituency, “when we go campaigning, people slowly come out with trust and hope. From a distance, they signal their support and say they are with us. There is a growing sentiment this time... People have had enough.”BJP volunteers and workers also recounted a recent incident in which, they allege, a group of TMC supporters tore down BJP banners and posters outside the office. Those present claimed that a video of the incident was uploaded on social media by a TMC fan page and remained online despite a police complaint. They described the episode as an attempt to “instill fear,” while asserting that such actions reflected underlying electoral anxieties. “Action cannot be taken by the ECI [Election Commission of India] on the matter as the social media page is not officially linked to the TMC... This is just a way to instill fear among people,” said a volunteer.The TMC has not publicly responded to these specific allegations.Beyond individual claims and counterclaims, the broader campaign environment in Bhowanipore reflects two distinct approaches: one centred on high-visibility public messaging, and the other on interpersonal outreach.As the high-stakes elections approach, both strategies continue to unfold across the constituency’s streets, neighbourhoods, and beyond, shaping the political atmosphere without offering a clear indication of the outcome of the upcoming polls.