Ever since the Left Front?s poor show at the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and the civic polls loss in Kolkata, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has been riding a wave of change. Traditionally, Bengal doesn?t like change?and Jyoti Basu mined this sentiment, pursuing status quo-esq politics, to win many elections. But after an emotional Nandigram and Singur agitation over land, the Left?s strong rural base began to shift loyalties.
Before chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee went public with his proposal to hand over 1,000 acres of lush Singur land to the Tatas for a car factory, the Left didn?t consult even the Left leaders on the ground. They had just won a seventh straight term in 2006, and the Trinamool had only 30 seats. As they began to be alienated from the people with a pro-industry push without explaining to the masses just how important industry is to Bengal?s recovery, Mamata Banerjee began to be perceived as someone carrying on the Left programme, through her close links with the masses and all workers/farmers movements. But it?s one thing to be a street fighter, and quite another to govern. If voted to power, how will Mamata Banerjee handle Bengal?
It?s clear that Bengal needs a huge thrust on industry to script an economic recovery, but that?s easier said than done. In fertile Bengal, land for industry is scarce, and with Nandigram, Singur and Rajarhat too fresh in memory, land acquisition won?t be easy. To Mamata?s credit, she has identified 50,000 acres, culled from land lying with closed factories, the Kolkata Port Trust and other regional development authorities, but will it be possible to attract big-ticket investments so soon after big-ticket exits of corporate giants like the Tatas? First, she needs to create a minimum rule of law. But for a state which calls a bandh at the drop of a hat, it will be a task to check her cadres?and the Left workers. Perhaps aware of the devastation the bandh culture can wreak on the economy, Mamata has been restraining her party, but it hasn?t gone down too well with the masses.
Then, there?s the question of infrastructure. To attract industry, you need good roads, adequate water and power, healthcare and so forth. On most counts, the state is a laggard. For the people, Mamata?s performance as railways minister isn?t very encouraging. She may have announced many projects?17 in Bengal alone?but not one has taken off the ground yet. Coach factories at Andal, Kanchrapara and Dankuni have remained proposals on paper. At Singur, she couldn?t convince anyone to set up shop after the Tatas? exit in 2008. In fact, local Trinamool leaders want the Tatas back. Experts, however, say even if four-five of her planned projects were to take off, Bengal would be on its way to recovery. In the campaign for the six-phase assembly elections starting April 18, Left leaders have repeatedly harped on Mamata?s track record in railways. What?s ominous is that in the 2011-12 rail budget, she hardly earmarked funds for development. Mamata, who often follows Left strategies in her politics, is closer to the Left Front on this?Bengal, in three decades of Left rule, has spent little on revenue-generating assets. Instead, it has been using the money it borrows to spend on salaries, pensions etc, not to build roads. There is little in her manifesto to suggest how Mamata will mop up funds. The state of finances apart, she will have a job to do in Darjeeling in the north, and Lalgarh in the south, to tackle the Gorkhaland and Maoist issues. How does she expect to solve the Darjeeling crisis, where tourism has been brought to a halt because of frequent bandhs and disruptions? In her manifesto, she claims she will solve the Gorkhaland issue in 200 days, but there doesn?t appear to be a blueprint yet on that. Her poll lists, packed with economists, retired bureaucrats and film stars, have sparked severe infighting and it may be difficult for her to keep her party in order.
There?s the other issue of her alliance with the Congress. With Pranab Mukherjee often calling the shots from Delhi and known to be close to the Left, does Mamata always know what her alliance partner is thinking? And yet, in her quest for power, the Congress is an important part?the Trinamool won just 30 seats in 2006 in a 294-seat assembly. At her roadshows, Mamata says if she is voted to power, the party will give priority to industry, health, education and administrative reforms in the first 200 days. It?s a tall ask for any party, but more so for a Bengal which resists change.