West Bengal – Big battle for left front

by Deepok Roy from Kolkata
March 2, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1312/west-bengal-big-battle-for-left-front

The West Bengal's Legislative assembly election scheduled to be held in May this year. Since 1977 the CPI-M led Left front ruling West Bengal but this time a real challenge has manifested to them by Trinamul Congress supreme – Kumari Mamata Banerjee. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has dubbed the summer election a big battle. The Communist Party of India ( Marxist) heads a left alliance which has made a world record for being the longest serving democratically elected communist government on the planet, in last seven elections CPI-M alone secured absolute majority to form the government but they adhered to the alliance politics and established marvellous example how alliance government rules the state one after another term.

The Left front regime set back on the crucial issue of acquiring land from farmers for industrial development under mounted pressure by state's opposition parties – led by firebrand Mamata Banerjee. Tata proposed to set up an automobile project in West Bengal in 2006 by investing 1,000 crore rupees and chose Singur, 36 kms off from Kolkata because of its proximity to the national expressway. The project was crucial to draw other industries to the state but due to the severe political unrest Tata abandoned it and moved the project to Gujarat. The Left front government also attempted another industrial project – a chemical hub in Nandigram at a 10,000 – acre farm land, the farmers protested vehemently and violently, reached a climax when at least 14 farmers were killed in police firing. The incident marked a low point in the history of Left front government and tarnished the image. In these two issues of Singur and Nandigram, Trinamul Congress supreme Mamata Banerjee encased political gain. Past she had swallowed two humiliating defeats – first in the parliament polls in 2004 when her party's tally dropped from nine to one and then in the West Bengal's Legislative assembly election in 2006 bagged 29 seats out of 293, Left front swiped 235 seats . Mamata Banerjee discovered of her colossal defeat branding scientific rigging. First Singur and then Nandigram given oxygen and brought her to the centre stage in Bengal politics. In 2009 Indian parliament election her party grabbed 19 seats and captured several municipalities.

In the forthcoming Legislative assembly election – minority votes are crucial as Muslims constitute about a quarter of the total population. In state's 19 districts at least 10 districts where Muslims constitute a quarter or more. As per Census of India 2001 in districts – Murshidabad ( 63.67 percent), Malda ( 49.72 percent), Uttar Dinajpur ( 47.36 percent), Birbhum ( 35.08 percent) and South 24 Parganas ( 33.24 percent), in districts – Nadia, Howrah, Coach Bihar, North 24 Parganas and Dakshin Dinajpur Muslims constitute average 24.47 percent. In these districts, there are about half of total 294 of assembly constituencies of the state. Muslims form heavy demographic weight to influence in the electoral game of political parties in West Bengal. In past several elections Muslims had voted for the Left front but the Nandigram episode had added much fuel to the anger of the Muslim community and its reflection already exposed in 2009 Parliament election and various municipalities, a large chunk of Muslims did not vote for the Left front. In the last 34 years of Left front rule in West Bengal , Muslims were safe. Traditionally Muslims of India had voted to Congress but after emergence of Left front government in West Bengal in 1977, started revolutionary land reform by which landless Muslims also benefited, they maintained very close ties with Left front. In West Bengal, six Muslims organizations – Jamaat-e Islami Hind, Shahri Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, Milli Council, Sunnat Aljamaat, Shia Asna Asari and the Muslim Institute despite of different ideology and political stands formed a front in 2007 – named The Milli Ittehad Parishad (MAP) but the front failed to secure base among Muslims voters.

Trinamul Congress supreme – Km. Mamata Banerjee became beneficiary of Singur and Nandigram episodes. When state government in 2007 acquired farm land for Tata's auto-hub in Singur and Indonesian tycoon Salim group's chemical hub in Nandigram she resorted a violent movement on the plea that farmland won't be allowed to acquire for sake of industry. The land losers spontaneously participated in the movement and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's government forced to scrap both projects although both were highly potentiality. Mamata Banerjee after becoming Indian Railway minister in mid of 2009 so far she had laid foundation stones of several projects across West Bengal involves thousands of acres of farming land for implementation of these projects. She had promised to the farmers that no any land for railway projects shall acquire forcibly, rather railway will pay value of land on current market rate and all land losers will get job at the railway. In Tata's Singur project, about 12,000 people were involved in just 997 acres of land , while Railway requires thousands of acres and people will be involved plenty of thousands, how she will provide jobs to all land losers. Till Indian Railway have vacancies of posts over a lakh and being failed to recruit, whether she has any Aladdin's magic lamp and its to be watched. For cheap popularity and deepening eyes on forthcoming Legislative assembly election she had flooded promises even she had assured jobs to a million on assumption into power. She had past record of obstinacy; the future will prove her competency and farsightedness if she elevates into West Bengal's administration by full filing her all high promises to take a good place in the history.

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