This churn in the “Greater Kolkata” region was not accidental, but a meticulously crafted strategy of the BJP, aimed at dismantling its “outsider” tag with a well-calibrated effort towards cultural assimilation paired with an aggressive development pitch. Anchored in the ethos of quintessential Bengali bhadralok and intellectual elite, the high-profile urban constituencies in Kolkata, long considered a secure turf of Mamata Banerjee, have, for the first time in decades, shown visible cracks with the BJP making inroads in the TMC’s urban fortress. The challenger BJP won six out of the 11 Assembly seats in the city. Bhabanipur in south Kolkata, which emerged as a high-stakes battleground, witnessed the biggest upset with incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee losing to her aide-turned arch nemesis Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of 15,105 votes. Mamata’s second drubbing at the hands of Adhikari – in 2021, she had lost to her former aide in Nandigram, a rural constituency.…