As West Bengal entered election mode today, it was clear that the CPIM led Left Front was trying to fend off a stiff challenge from the united opposition of Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) . In the first of the three-phased poll in Bengal, 14 out of 42 seats went to poll today. As Subrata Mukherjee, the Congress candidate from the Bankura constituency put it: “This time, the division among voters is - those who are pro-Left and those who are anti Left. Other considerations like support for a party, or any third force, are absent this time.” Though they would have liked to play up the tensions between Congress and TMC, the Left leaders also grudgingly admit this. CPIM state committee member Dipak Dasgupta and RSP state committee member Manoj Bhattacharya agree that unlike previous occasions, this time the opposition has been able to put up a united front against the Left.
In this polarised political atmosphere, Left leaders have more reason to worry than their opponents - as the BJP is not in a position to dent the opposition vote bank in any major way. Except in Darjeeling where the BJP heavyweight Jaswant Singh is sailing on the high emotion of the Gorkhaland movement, all other seats where BJP had some support base are now showing signs of wilting under pressure. BJP leaders Tapan Sikdar and Shamik Bhattacharya indicate this as well. In this red bastion, saffron is being edged out.
Of the 14 constituencies that went to vote today, Left parties said they expected to retain a majority of the seats. But the tribal areas saw a new development. People in some of the tribal pockets of Purulia and Jhargram responded to the boycott call given by the Naxalites. They backed their call for boycott with some violence and intimidation. But even the opposition leaders say this will have limited effect on the outcome.
But the Left admits that in North Bengal, other than Darjeeling, they are facing tough fight in Coochbehar and Balurghat, which has been traditionally won by them. If that happens and the Congress retains Raigunj, and two seats from Malda, then in the first round of the poll in Bengal, the Left would have to yield some ground to the opposition. A Left ideologue, who did not want to be named, commented:“Major battles are ahead in the next two rounds of poll. Elections will be held in that region where Nandigram and Singur are located, where the anti-Left wave is definitely blowing more strongly.” There are 24 seats in that region and the Left is bracing itself for that fight.
