What lies ahead in 2021 for West Bengal?

Part 1 and a preamble! The Left slayer!

Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, the mellowed Marxist had, as expected, won handsomely in 2006 to lead again as the Chief Minister with Left Front winning 233 seats of the 294 Assembly seats. There was optimism all around with the liberal Buddha trying to combat his stubborn party colleagues for a revival of industries. Tata offered to set up their car plant in Singur for which the State acquired 997 acres of fertile land from the farmers. Nano, the soon-to-roll-out small car became the hot topic of an industrial rejuvenation of West Bengal.

The Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee, popular as Didi, until then a part of NDA Block won 31 Assembly seats, dislodging UPA constituents to the third position with only 26 seats. A restive Mamata had to make quick political amends and parted with NDA in August 2006.

It was the midnight of 28th December 2006, Mamata, fasting continuously for 25 days to drive out Tata Motors, suddenly ended her fast on an appeal by the then President of India, Abdul Kalam. 

Despite shaken, CM Buddha green-flagged the acquisition of 10000 acres of land for a Special Economic Zone to be developed by the Salim Group of Indonesia. Salim was the good luck charm and was offered land parcels everywhere in West Bengal. On 14th March 2007, a posse of 4000 policemen stormed Nandigram to quell the protests and shot dead 14 villagers and wounded 70 more. Suddenly the Salim dream burst following the Asian financial crisis. The land issue eclipsed all other ones as Tata pulled out of Singur in 2008, and the Supreme Court declared the land acquisition illegal ordering the return of the lands to the cultivators. Though Buddha was exonerated by the courts recently over his involvement in Nandigram firing, the image of the Left parties as staunch agrarian friends, was destroyed beyond redemption. 

From near-oblivion in the red citadel of West Bengal, Mamata the lone parliamentarian from her party, re-emerged as a potential force to re-write the future of the State of West Bengal, as she steadfastly and relentlessly branded the Left as enemies of the farmers  and a ‘sold-out’ party to the industrialists. She discarded her pro-right leanings and her association with the BJP to become visibly close to the Muslim minorities.

Mamata toppled the 34-year left rule to romp in with an absolute majority in the elections of 2011 in the State and took over as the Chief Minister. The State suffering under the dormancy and a frozen-in-time left welcomed her as she walked jubilantly from Raj Bhavan to the Writers’ Building. Her vanquishing the communists was widely hailed all around the Western World, that she was the darling of the world. Leaders like Hilary Clinton, the then Secretary of State of the US, visited her and praised her achievement. 

Mamata expected that the Centre would write-off the huge loans of the Left Front government to help her spend on social development. The rules did not permit write off of sovereign loans as a substantial portion of revenue had to be used up for servicing the past State loans.

West Bengal may have more political cadres than many other Indian States, primarily because of lack of jobs and industries. She had to feed them. The shortage of funds began to hurt her, as crafty businessmen and Ponzi scammers started infiltrating her inner circle. By the time of the next Assembly elections, her party , TMC, was deeply embroiled in Sarada and Narada scams. Her sale of paintings bought again by crafty business houses cast a shadow on her and her party men.. Mamata successfully turned the tide, terming the Narada bribery scam, a ‘witch hunt and attack on the secular credentials of her party. 

Mamata and her TMC party won yet again in 2016, retaining 211 of the 294 seats, despite the serious allegations of bribery and corruption. BJP emerged as the primary opposition, perhaps due to its overall national winning spree and Modi’s emergence, which reflected in the State as well. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2019, BJP wrested 18 seats from the TMC coming close to vote tally of the TMC, sending shockwaves in a State boastful of their secular credentials and having a Minority population of a third. The once-dominant Left won no seats! A few leaders switched over from TMC to the BJP  won the elections too, showing a mood swing of the electorate.

The next trial of strength is likely to be in West Bengal Assembly elections slated for April-May 2021, redrawing the future of the State as well as Didi’s.

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
Pic: PM Vajpayee visits Didi at her Kalighat home.

To be continued…..2