Mamata Banerjee: Mamata’s big test: Will brand ‘Didi’ deliver again in Bengal? | India News

The question now is whether the brand, once seen as electoral Teflon, can still withstand voter fatigue, allegations of corruption and this time a much more entrenched opposition like the Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP.

A brand of its own

The brand ‘Didi’ that Mamata Banerjee created was never about mere governance; He broke down the distance between state power and the individual citizen, turning policy into a personal campaign.From the anti-Left rebel who came to power in 2011 to the welfare architect of the last decade, Banerjee’s politics has evolved, but its core remains intact: a direct emotional and material connection with the voter.

By 2021, this model had reached its peak. Despite high-decibel campaigning by the BJP, the TMC bagged 215 seats with a vote share of 48.5%. However, the BJP managed to secure a large chunk of 77 seats with a vote share of 38.4%.After five years, this election will again test whether the brand survives.

The Matriarchal State: Welfare as Political Glue

The ‘Didi’ brand is at the heart of what can be described as a matriarchal welfare state, a governance model that prioritizes household liquidity over macro-economic signals. Rather than promising long-term infrastructure gains, it delivers immediate, tangible benefits that matter to voters in their daily lives.Schemes like ‘Lakshmi Bhandar’ became the basis of this model. Enrolling approximately 2.21 crore women, and raising the monthly stipend to Rs 1,500 for the general category and Rs 1,700 for SC/ST beneficiaries, the scheme has effectively created a massive, cross-cutting support base among women voters that transcends caste and religious divides.

The scale of the state’s food security network reinforces this bond. Under ‘Khadya Sathi’ and ‘Door Ration’, about 9 crore people receive subsidized food grains, of which 7.5 crore beneficiaries are delivered at their doorsteps. In large parts of rural Bengal, these schemes make the Mamata government a strong monthly presence in several households.It is like J Jayalalithaa Tamil Nadu With his ‘Amma’ initiative, which provided affordable, nutritious food to low-income groups. The flagship programme, Amma Canteen, revolutionized food security, selling idli for Rs 1, sambar rice for Rs 5 and curd rice for Rs 3.

Street Fighter 2.0

Days before the election date was announced, Mamata Banerjee employed a sharp strategy to rebrand her street fighter image. Faced with anti-incumbency and growing institutional pressure, he shifted the arena of conflict – from street protests to courtrooms. On February 4, he became the rare sitting chief minister to address the Supreme Court in person, turning the legal hearing into a political moment.

At the heart of the move was the SIR of the voter list, where more than 90 lakh names were deleted. While the BJP framed it as a clean-up exercise, Banerjee reframed it as a question of disenfranchisement. Appearing in person, wearing his trademark cotton sari and chappals, he reinforced his image as a grassroots leader with the powerful institutions that had helped him in his pre-political days.The move also marked a subtle rethink. Since being cast as a struggling street politician, he repositioned himself as a “constitutional warrior”, arguing that protecting voters’ rights required tackling the system from within.

Stress Factors: Corruption and Credibility

Still, after more than a decade, the brand is apparently under pressure. The 2026 election cycle has exposed fault lines that go beyond routine anti-incumbency.The most damaging challenge was what could be described as a crisis of ethics. Incidents like the RG Kar Medical College tragedy and the allegations that emerged from Sandeshkhali struck at the emotional core of Banerjee’s political identity – ‘Mother, Soil, Man’. The ‘mother’ element, which positions her as a protective figure, particularly in relation to the protection of women, has come under scrutiny.

During the second-phase election campaign in Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used it to tear into his party, saying: “15 years ago, the TMC came to power by saying ‘mother, soil, man’. Now they can’t even utter those words. I’ll tell you the reason behind it. If these people utter those words, their sins will be exposed.” TMC’s brutality has made the ‘mother’ cry, handed over the ‘soil’ to syndicates and infiltrators and forced the ‘people’ of Bengal to flee.“The BJP, in fact, has also given an election ticket to the mother of the RG tax case victim, for whom PM Modi campaigned at Dum Dum on Saturday.In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP also fielded Sandeshkhali victim Rekha Patra from West Bengal’s Basirhat. Patra, however, lost the election.The narrative of corruption, amplified by investigations involving central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI, further complicates the issue of women’s protection. Although the TMC has questioned these investigations and Mamata herself has openly fought against the establishment, they may contribute to a larger credibility challenge.

Identity politics

The 2026 election was also marred by the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, which reportedly deleted nearly 91 lakh names. The first phase recorded a voter turnout of 92.59%, the highest since independence.Mamata Banerjee affirmed that this EC practice is a political issue – identity and disenfranchisement. Portraying this as an attempt to exclude vulnerable populations (read Muslims), he mobilized his base around a defensive narrative: not simply to vote for a party, but to preserve one’s political existence.In Phase 1 polls, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the increase in vote percentage “decisively went in favor of the ruling party” and signaled a clear rejection of the BJP.Echoing the same sentiment, TMC minister Bratya Basu said, “In Bihar, we have seen a similar pattern where voter turnout has increased significantly, but the government remains unchanged. Bengal is reflecting the same trend.”The BJP, in contrast, framed the SIR exercise as a corrective measure targeting illegal immigration. The result is a sharply polarized discourse, where the electoral contest doubles as a battle among themselves.In such circumstances, ‘brand didi’ may gain renewed relevance in the pockets of some voters — not as a vehicle of aspiration, but as a shield against perceived exclusion.

permanent edge

Despite the headwinds, Mamata Banerjee retains three key advantages that could once again work in TMC’s favor electorally.The first is the absence of a credible local counterface. The BJP’s campaign, though organizationally strong, still rests on promises of national leadership and ‘double-engine’ governance. This allowed the TMC to choose a contest between the ‘daughter of Bengal’ and external forces, strengthening regional identity.The TMC has raised the slogan “Bangla Nivar Mayi Chai” (Bangla wants its own daughter) this election season, calling the BJP an outsider who wants to end Bengali culture.The second is the depth of the grassroots network. Through self-help groups like Anandhara, which includes more than 12 lakh groups and over 1 crore women, the TMC has developed a decentralized organizational structure.The third is Banerjee’s adaptive populism. In the face of crisis, he has consistently rebounded — introducing schemes like Shramshree and expanding the social safety net to recover lost ground. The Shramshree scheme helps repatriate Bengali-speaking migrant workers who have faced harassment or hardship in other states. It provides a one-time travel grant of Rs 5,000, monthly financial assistance up to Rs 5,000 for one year and rehabilitation assistance, benefiting registered workers.This ability to respond quickly prevented discontent from crystallizing into a unified anti-incumbent wave.

Brand evolution

Perhaps the most significant transformation is conceptual. The ‘Didi’ brand of 2026 is no longer the aspirational force of 2011, when it promised ‘Poriborton’ (change), nor the oppositional force of 2021, captured in the slogan ‘Khela Hobe’.It has now rebranded itself as a utility with welfare schemes This time, it is also fighting against the BJP, which is currently the dominant national party.Banerjee has already asserted that he will focus on Delhi after winning the assembly elections.“Remember this, you cannot defeat us. We fight against injustice; we fight for our rights. I was born in Bengal and I will breathe my last in this Bengal. If I win in Bengal, I will occupy Delhi. I will do it by rallying all political parties together. I do not want (the seat of power); I want total abolition of BJP in Delhi. While their destruction in Bengal is inevitable, the BJP must also be ousted from Delhi,” he said at a rally in Kolkata.

So will the brand ‘Didi’ work?

The state has already voted on 152 constituencies in the first phase on April 23 and will vote in the second phase on Wednesday.Whether he will come to power for a fourth term, we will know when the results are announced on May 4. But for now, the last woman is still standing.