Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee led her party to a resounding victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections on Sunday, winning 213 seats of the 292 seats in the state. However, Banerjee herself narrowly lost the election in Nandigram to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Suvendu Adhikari, who was once her aide.
The BJP stood second with 77 seats. The Rashtriya Secular Majlis Party won one seat, and an Independent candidate won another. The Left Front and the Congress drew a blank. The majority mark in West Bengal is 148.
Politicians from across the country, including Mehbooba Mufti, Arvind Kejriwal and Sharad Pawar congratulated Banerjee for defeating “disruptive and divisive forces”.
The ruling party’s victory was hailed by cartoonists and meme makers.
Banerjee’s bandaged foot featured prominently in some cartoons, as did the Trinamool campaign slogan – “khel hobe”, game on.
The Bengal chief minister has been in a wheelchair even since she claimed on March 10 that she had been pushed by four or five people while campaigning in Nandigram. The Election Commission, however, concluded that the injuries she suffered on her foot were the result of an accident.
Mansoor Naqvi’s comment said, “End of the game.”
Alok Nirantar’s cartoon made a reference to a line Narendra Modi used in campaign speeches, jeering “Didi oh Didi”, using the term of endearment (“elder sister’) by which Banerjee’s supporters refer to her.
Modi was roundly criticised for these remarks, with Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra comparing them to them to the cat-calls made by a “street-side fellow”.
Meme makers got into action too.
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