Lessons for Bengal from Uttarakhand!

Uttarakhand was carved out of Northern Uttar Pradesh in Nov 2009. The hilly state has international boundaries with China (Tibet) in its north and Nepal in its east. In its 12 years of existence, it has had 20 Chief Ministers and, in the last four months, three. The Last CM, Tirath Singh Rawat, resigned to make way for Pushkar Sigh Dhami. Legislative Assembly elections will be held in Uttarakhand in February 2022 to elect 70 members of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.

Though, inability to give good governance is said to be the reason for Rawat’s replacement, there may be deeper political angles to the move. Rawat, a non-member in the legislative assembly, had to get himself elected in the Legislative assembly in a by-poll within six months of his appointment as the CM, which was four months ago.

A bypoll was held in Salt on 17 April 2021 after Rawat took over as the chief minister on 10 March 2021. Strangely, the BJP did not field Rawat and instead fielded Mahesh Jeena, the elder brother of Surendra Jeena, who had died of Covid 19 late last year. Mahesh Jeena of the BJP won the seat. The resignation of the Chief Minister was for his inability to contest a bypoll within the mandatory six months.

BJP party may not be uninformed of the legal provisions and may have deliberately chosen this, as I look at the scenario in the context of West Bengal. Mamata must get elected within six months of her assuming office as the Chief Minister. She had lost the assembly election from Nandigram and has filed a suit in the High court seeking a declaration of Suvendu Adhikary’s win as null and void. The matter is hanging in the court. 

Mamata has also made a loyal member and MLA of her party, Sovan Deb Chattopadhyay, resign his Bhowanipore Seat from where she could have contested. Kajal Sinha, a TMC contestant from Khardaha, died just before his win was announced, and TMC MLA Jayanta Naskar from Gosaba has also died recently of Covid 19. TMC has been demanding that a bypoll be announced without delay. 

Buoyed by its electoral win, TMC has not forgiven those who have supported the BJP. There are reports of attacks and assaults of political opponents from all over the state. Mamata’s soon rid herself of a matured and mellowed mask as she started her blitzkrieg on Modi, Shah and Governor Dhankar.

Mamata must keep in mind that it is not she or anyone in Nabanna who could announce an election, which must be done by the Election commission alone. The election commission could delay the holding of the bypolls quoting the matter as sub-judice or quoting the post-poll clashes in the state. There could be a possible à la Uttarakhand scenario in West Bengal as well. I had earlier written that Mamata’s win is fine but her peaceful reign to complete her five-year term would be tumultuous and dobtful.

It will be interesting to watch as to who will have the last laugh!

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide Voix