[Reuters] India’s opposition may finally have a leader capable of challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national level in “Bengal Tigress” Mamata Banerjee, who handed the Bharatiya Janata Party chief a major defeat in a key state election this week, political commentators said. The emphatic victory by Banerjee’s party in the West Bengal polls has rekindled hope among the opposition that Modi can be challenged at the center and held accountable for what they say are the Hindu nationalist leader's failures – especially his mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic – analysts and other political parties said. “Mamata Banerjee is now a national-level alternative for the UPA,” commentator Sanjay Jha said on Twitter, referring to an earlier alliance of opposition parties and national elections scheduled for 2024.