Mamata Banerjee - an unpredictable leader

by Deepak Roy from Kolkata
April 13, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1372/mamata-banerjee-an-unpredictable-leader

In the 2011 Legislative assembly election of West Bengal , a large chunk of population of urban areas anticipate that Kumari Mamata Banerjee will topple down Left front government and become chief minister of the state, her biggest ambition with her battle cry ' maa , maati, maanush' (mother, earth, people). Mamata's advent into politics from her childhood, she was born on January 5, 1955 in a middle-class family of obscure background but being dedicated , hard working and dauntless she quickly rose in the ranks, at the age of 15 years she was become member of Mahila congress (Indira). In 8^th Lok Sobha (Indian parliament) election held in 1984 after the assassination of Indira Gandhi and to this Indira-wave Mamata Banerjee created a sensation by defeating the heavy weight candidate, the veteran communist and erstwhile speaker of Indian Parliament Somnath Chatterjee and became the then youngest parliamentarian in the realm of the Indian politics.

From the beginning of her political career she maintains a simple lifestyle and never expends money on her cloths and cosmetics most Bengali women normally does. She parted ways with the Congress and floated a new party – the Trinamul Congress, while Congress since its inception believes in secular politics and Mamata Banerjee has build up her political career in the Congress but in 1999 she had dramatically joined as union Railway minister in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) , a highly communal organisation and principal component of NDA. Relation with the BJP – led government was uneasy when a media exposed string footage of corruption in the government, she left the government. Mamata regarded a firebrand leader, a harsh opponent of the CPI-M and the eternal voice against the CPI-M in West Bengal, she the face of the opposition against the Left dominated politics.

For occupying the chair of the chief minister of West Bengal, she very proudly and high voice beyond decibel described her recent tenure as of about 2 years a golden era that what she has done for West Bengal that none would be able to do it in 200 years, her this type of sarcastic utterance is really worrisome. But statistics speaks a different tell , prior to her assumption as minister was always in credit balance, it was given exchequer to Indian government but now this railways at the stage of fallen flat on its face and railways have become a deficit fund of over Rs. 2,500 crores . In last 20 months she laid foundation stones of several projects and whether at least a major portion may be implemented it remains a big question to the experts.Indian railwaysIndian Railway minister

In the election campaign, she has started propagating that the incumbent Left front has become a bankrupt state and was reeling under the burden of loans totalling Rs. 2.26 lakh crores but the actual figure is around Rs. 1.69 lakh crores and this figure is the cumulative effect of borrowings since 1950s. Left front government was formed in 1977 and the Congress ruled the state since independence and they first started borrowings from Union government. The Union government 's accrued loans to various states were around Rs. 35 lakh crores – leads the pack with a debt burden of Rs. 2.21 lakh crores closely followed by Maharastra with a debt burden of Rs. 2.08 lakh crores.Uttar Pradeshgovernment of West Bengal

Mamata Banerjee described her election manifesto a vision and promises to rejuvenate the state – 'Bangla ke chho masher moddhe changa kore debo ( I will rejuvenate Bengal within six months) , formation of a Legislative council to be included economists , scientists, doctors, theatre personalities and remarkably people from the unorganised sectors like rickshaw pullers , labourers. She wanted change not take revenge and bring about administrative reforms in all sectors including police force but she did not spell out how she would change the mindset of bureaucrats and police. She has become the beneficiary of the movement launched against land acquisition at Singur and in the state and repeatedly said that she was against forcible acquisition of land and if any land owner is not willing to give land, it will not be taken forcibly, she has also promised to provide jobs to a million youths.Nandigram

The election will be held in 6 phases starting from 18 April, last phase on 10 May and the result would be announced on 13 May, whether Mamata Banerjee smiles or Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee re - smiles will be cleared.

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