Modi’s Fragile Popularity Tested by Communist Party In India's Bengal

Each day, Bloomberg journalists take you across a selection of towns and cities as they gear up for the big vote.

Hello, this is Saket Sundria, a breaking news editor with Bloomberg in New Delhi. I hail from Jhargram, a small town in the southern parts of West Bengal state, surrounded by ancient sal forests. Following a prolonged phase of left-wing militancy, the predominantly tribal region gained national infamy after a rare train hijack in 2009, and another deadly incident of sabotage the following year. A Communist party stronghold for almost four decades, the constituency had switched allegiance to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in 2009. But, in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party pulled a surprise narrow win from the town, where Subhas Chandra Bose — a revered leader of India’s independence movement — had famously lambasted the BJP’s ideological parent Hindu Mahasabha for using religion to get votes. Lack of development, industry and jobs remain key issues while a resurgent Communist party may stymie BJP’s chances in Jhargram.