 "The return of laughing Buddha")
Arguably, there is no question mark over his intent to regain lost paradise. Bhattacharjee defended the industrialisation and land policies of the Left Front government which brought about its mighty fall from power after a 34-year long regime. In the present political scenario, the last thing West Bengal needs is an unchanged Communist Party of India (Marxist), despite Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress boss Mamata Banerjee’s pathetic record in government. It is high time that the CPM Politburo member led the revolt against his own status quo-loving party bosses in New Delhi as well as his colleagues in Bengal. The panchayat poll in May this year is being perceived as a litmus test of whether the party has regained the acceptability of the people or not.
In those turbulent days of Nandigram and Singur, the Leftists became victims of their failure to communicate well with the people. Rumours were deliberately dressed up as truth. “Remain a Communist but not dogmatic...Those who cannot change will be out. Either you change or you are out,” Communist Party of India general secretary A B Bardhan had said during a TV interview after the defeat of the Left in West Bengal. Bhattacharjee must strike a balance between the CPM’s core constituency (rural Bengal) and the need for mega industries for the state’s economic growth. Big industry means manufacturing and this needs to be injected in the collective consciousness of the Bengal population.
In 2000, Bhattacharjee took over as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from Jyoti Basu. The 69-year-old leader realised that the anti-industry plank of the Left was no longer relevant and Bengal needed industries that could create jobs.
Bhattacharjee began to invite industrialists to set shop in Bengal. IT and BPO firms were the first to make an entry into the state. Land and labour were both cheap. IT companies were given some land outside Kolkata and they commenced operations. The state was notorious for bandhs; and it started to hit especially the BPO sector, who had to keep servicing their foreign clients all the time. The cultural intellectual chief minister asked his party cadre not to disturb BPO staff on their way to work on bandh days. This was where the first dent into the Left brand was made. And the rest is history…
Business Standard puts a crystal ball before the veteran Marxist and shows him what lies ahead
1) First things first: expose the Trinamool Congress’s hollow slogan of Maa, Mati, Manush (Mother, Land, People). It is quite evident that Mamata Banerjee’s government is directionless, and it is desired that the former CM must substantiate his charges on the change in economic fortunes of the Trinamool chief’s family members. “I don't agree with the perception that she (Mamata) is honest," Bhattacharjee told a Bengali news channel when asked whether he agreed with the popular view about Banerjee's integrity.
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2) Counter the traditionalists in the party who regard bandhs as the most effective tool to uphold the cause of the working class and to boost the morale of the cadre when they are down. Strikes alone would not bring about the desired change in Bengal. They throw normal life out of gear and the aam aadmi suffers the most. Also, try to change the mindset that turns every bandh in Bengal into a bonus holiday.
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3) Be ready to take calculated risks as people’s perception is changing fast since the days of Singur fiasco. The state cannot shelve industrialisation because of the land acquisition logjams. One school of thought says that let private investors have to arrange their own land and the government will not do anything. Singur would have changed the face of Hooghly district. But the ruling party’s hands-off policy on land has led to nothing happening there. The Mamata-led Trinamool government has failed to set up industry and create employment for the youth. Industry minister Parth Chatterjee claimed that the government has attracted investment proposals worth over Rs 1,00,000 crore in less than 20 months. He has, however, not given a detailed break-up of the proposals or the rate of implementation of the projects.
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4) West Bengal’s biggest annual industrial meet, Bengal Leads, too was a flop show this year, with most big names in the corporate world staying away. Business and political analysts pointed out that the state government’s land policy (it is dead against getting involved in land acquisition for industry, having declared that the industries themselves will have to do the land acquisition) was a big turnoff for industrialists. During Vibrant Gujarat, both Ratan Tata and his successor Cyrus Mistry, the chairperson of Tata Sons, iterated the group’s commitment to invest more in the western state. Mistry did not turn up at Leads despite an invitation from the Bengal government.
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5) Take a leaf from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's book. The first step to revive the prospect of the party is to bring back law and order and this involves quick prosecution of hoodlums from the party. No responsible resident of the state supports CPM hooliganism. It appeared that the party found pleasure in creating trouble for peace-loving citizens. The party must realise its mistake in infringing on others' rights. The CPM must shed its DNA of violence. Over the last decade or so, the Left unleashed the goons (harmad sena) on Bengal's hapless poor in running battles for territory and political control.
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6) There is a big disconnect between the leadership from the top to bottom and the people. The foremost challenge before Mamata government is to find jobs for youth - - which the CPI-M denied them -- and the CM has to win the private sector. To garner, the youth support, the CPM must unveil its agenda on employment as well its concrete plans for job creation in the state.
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7) The former chief minister must give a clear message to his party and the public about his re-emergence and return to the political centrestage, appearing ready to lead the CPM from the front in the panchayat polls. In the televised interview, he rightly said: “ … I am not a fragile glass cup that I will break at a gentle knock. My responsibility is far more.”
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8) Didi’s promise of the real poriborton (change) is shown in the form of paranoia and intolerance against any kind of dissent. Banerjee’s sole agenda was to dislodge the Left Front government. She never spelt out her alternative development agenda. The electorate was aware of this and voted her to power. The middle class that turned the tide of public opinion in the TMC's favour is angry.
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9) Economists are losing sleep over what would be the financial health of the state. West Bengal has the sixth largest economy in India. It is now the third fastest growing economy in the country. However, Bengal’s fiscal situation is perhaps the worst in the country, with high government borrowing and the accumulation of a huge debt. Bengal has to pay Rs 22,000 crore each year — the highest in the country — as interest and repayment of past debt. The veteran leader must spell out how to fix the economic woes, if he returns to power in 2016.
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10) Bhattacharjee alleged that the Trinamool government is making all effort to appease the minorities in a crude manner. The present government is offering allowances to imams of mosques. Now, purohits have started saying they should also be given such sops. The policy of minority appeasement is leading to the return of the politics of mandir and masjid. The Left government had tried its best to address the "real issue'' of Muslims by reserving jobs for them in the government.
With her crumpled white sari and rubber slippers, Mamata Banrejee never quite made it to the inner chambers of bhadralok society. Hopefully, Buddhadeb babu will read this article and chalk out his future course of action accordingly. Experts say the Left will not disappear as there is immense poverty in the state and there is a space for it to rebuild.