By Sumanta Ray Chaudhuri Kolkata, Dec 24 : The political scene in West Bengal is likely to witness several interesting turns in the new year against the backdrop of the two consecutive elections in the next two years -- the first being the polls for the three-tier panchayat system next year and the second being the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. The results of the rural civic body polls in West Bengal have always been an indicator for the Lok Sabha polls since 2008. The results of the panchayat polls in 2008 witnessed the first signs of cracks in the CPI-M's solid red fort which was the first sign of change in the power equations in the state. These cracks in the red fort resulted in a major collapse in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections with the Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance stumping the mighty CPI-M-led Left Front in terms of the number of seats. This finally resulted in the total collapse the 34-year Left Front regime in West Bengal in the 2011 assembly polls. Again, in the 2018 panchayat polls, the results showed the BJP emerging as the most formidable opposition in West Bengal, with the Left Front in a distant third position. The trend gained momentum in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with the BJP improving its seat tally to 18 from just two in 2014, while the Left Front got reduced to zero from two in 2014. But will the BJP be able to retain its principal opposition status or will the rural civic body polls witness a resurrection of the red force? The question has gained significance because despite being reduced to zero in terms of the number of seats in the 2021 Assembly polls, the Bengal leftists have been able to substantially improve their vote share in the different bypolls and elections for municipalities and municipal corporations in the last one year. The presence of CPI-M cadres in protest demonstrations on issues like corruption against the ruling Trinamool Congress has largely overshadowed similar initiatives on this count by the BJP, whose leaders are more focussed on court battles to counter the ruling party. It remains to be seen whether legal battles or the on-field resistance will be the opposition strategy to take on the Trinamool Congress. As far as the BJP is concerned, their strategic moves for the rural civic body polls makes it clear that dependence on court battles will get a greater focus in the coming days. Besides forming a committee for the panchayat polls under the leadership of party Lok Sabha member from Raigunj, Debasree Chaudhuri, a separate committee has been formed to look after the legal affairs and social media campaign for the panchayat polls. Legal brains dominate the committee with the leading face being the convener of the party's legal cell in West Bengal, Loknath Chattopadhyay. According to him, when the democratic system in the state collapses, then the courts remain the only recourse for the opposition parties to seek justice, since only the judicial system can order remedial measures to protect democracy against the atrocities of the ruling party. Chattopadhyay added: "I understand that the final mandate in any election is in the hands of the voters. But again, the court can ensure that the election process is peaceful and voters can vote without fear." However, for the Bengal leftists like the state president of the CPI-M's youth wing, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Meenakshi Mukherjee, who is one of the leading faces of the party's protest demonstrations over various issues, feels that the resistance against the ruling party goons will have to be organised through on-field resistance by uniting the people. Mukherjee said: "That is what we are doing for the last one year on different issues, starting with corruption, by involving common people and, most importantly, those who were victims of corruption. As for the legal battle, it is continuing at its own natural pace as you can see that the majority of the legal battles on corruption issues are being fought by the legal brains from our party led by the party's Rajya Sabha member, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya." Political analysts too feel that any movement by the opposition should have a perfect balance of on-field resistance and legal discourse to take that movement to the highest level. "On-field resistance helps the opposition to garner mass support against the ruling front, but the legal discourse acts as the shield against the ruler's onslaught to halt that mass movement." "History has proved it again and again that the balance of these two factors has been the most effective tool for the opposition," feels political observer Raja Gopal Dhar Chakraborty. Virtually echoing him, political commentator Sabyasachi Bandopadhyay said that sole dependence on legal discourse can never be that effective a tool for the opposition in taking on the ruling force. Bandyopadhyay added: "The 34-year Left Front rule was a result of the prolonged movement by left parties especially CPI(M) against the then ruling Congress party on various issues like emergency, food security, farmers' right on land they plough and trade union movements." "Again, the collapse of that 34-year-old red fort in West Bengal was a result of the sustained on-ground movement by Mamata Banerjee as the then opposition leader on issues like farmland acquisition and election rigging. So whichever political party wants to establish itself as a dominant political force will ultimately garner mass support through on-ground resistance. The legal discourse can just act as a catalyst in the process," he said. /IANS