Bhattacharyya, Dwaipayan (2023). Of Conflict and Collaboration: Mamata Banerjee and the Making of ‘Franchisee Politics’ in West Bengal, Economic and Political Review, September 9, 2023, VOL LVIII NO 36.
Political violence is a routine feature of elections in West Bengal. While poll-related violence is not unique to Bengal, in no other State is it so deadly. In Bengal, it consumed 70 lives in 2003, 30 each in 2008 and 2013, and 50 in 2018. What is it about West Bengal’s political system that demands such relentless bloodshed? This paper by Dwaipayan Bhattacharya seeks to answer this question by mapping the structures of political power in a context of evolving political competition.