While the TMC has unleashed a campaign of terror against its opponents in West Bengal, undermining democracy in the state, Mamata's win will, ironically, strengthen democratic institutions outside Bengal.
Despite a year-long concentrated campaign by Team Modi, the BJP failed to wrest West Bengal from Mamata Banerjee. While the TMC has unleashed a campaign of terror against its opponents in West Bengal, undermining democracy in the state, Mamata's win will, ironically, strengthen democratic institutions outside Bengal. As the Modi government faces its biggest electoral setback in the midst of its inept handling of the COVID crisis, institutions will get emboldened to speak up and uphold the democratic rights of ordinary Indians.