We Will Counter the Violence with Political Campaign: Biman Basu

By N S Arjun (INN)

 

Hyderabad: June 11, 2011: The ongoing physical attacks on the cadre and leaders of the Left Front in Bengal will be countered through intensive political campaign among the people in favour of peace and saving democracy. This campaign has already begun in the state and will be intensified in the coming period, said CPI(M) Bengal state secretary Biman Basu.

 

Speaking to INN on the sidelines of the Central Committee meetings here, Basu criticised the TMC-Congress government for not taking up any measures to stem these physical attacks despite repeated deputations by the leaders of the Left Front. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Surjya Kanta Mishra, along with Left Front MLAs submitted memorandums to the state Governor and CM on this issue but no action has been taken so far. He said since May 13, the day of results, a total of 13 comrades belonging to the CPI(M) and one to RSP have been brutally killed by the TMC-Congress goons in the state.

On June 25, the day Emergency was clamped on the nation by Indira Gandhi, a two day statewide campaign ‘Save Democracy, Ensure Peace’ will be launched by the Left Front against the terror tactics unleashed by the TMC-Congress combine, said Basu. About the weapons being regularly “found” in the vicinity of CPI(M) offices and residences of its leaders, Basu said that it was the TMC activists who are planting these in order to get the CPI(M) leaders arrested, most of whom have in fact been charged under non-bailable sections. They have gone so far as to plant the Maoists captured rifle (during their attack on EFR jawans camp) near a residence of CPI(M) leader in order to propagate that it was the CPI(M) which attacked the EFR camp!

‘MEDIA TERRORISM’

Biman Basu termed the coverage of the corporate media in Bengal during the elections as ‘media terrorism’ and that it played a part in creating a positive impact for the TMC-Congress combine. “Corporate media always reported in a concocted fashion, putting out blatant lies about the functioning of the Left Front government while demonising the CPI(M) and the Left Front in general. We couldn’t assess properly how deeply this media had penetrated in different districts”, said Basu. He cited the mis-reporting of what he said yesterday about the ordinance brought out by TMC-Congress government relating to the giving back of 400 acres of land in Singur to farmers. He said that he had only pointed out the unconstitutionality of the ordinance route at a time when the assembly was still in session. But the media suppressed this part and only propagated that Biman Basu opposed the transfer of land. He said this was a blatant lie and is a stark example of media’s role in Bengal.

 

ON ELECTION OUTCOME

Biman Basu said that the deep penetration of the slogan of change given by TMC-Congress could not be assessed properly by Party activists in different districts. The campaign unleashed by TMC-Congress on this slogan, ably aided by the corporate media, did make inroads among the people in rural and urban areas, felt the preliminary review made by the Bengal state committee. Further reasons would be found out in the detailed reviews of district committees and in the next state committee meeting scheduled in mid July, said Basu.

 

One of the factors in not coming to a proper assessment was the fact of massive participation of people in the mobilisation either through road shows or public meetings. Some lacunae in organisational front also played a part, he felt.

Elections 2011: One Clear Message, Several Ambiguities

By Sukumar Muralidharan,

Newsclick, May 15, 2011

Over seven days of polling between April 4 and May 10, five Indian states, together accounting for over a fifth of the membership of the two houses of parliament, had general elections to their legislative assemblies. The long drawn out process of balloting left everyone – candidate, voter and interested bystander – restless for final closure. And when the counting of votes started early on May 13, the results flooded in with the momentum of a fast-moving sporting encounter.

Analysts did not have to spend too much time parsing the results that emerged for a dominant message. Quite simply, the implosion of the Left Front in West Bengal, a state considered its impregnable bastion, was so dramatic that it overshadowed every other message. For the left parties, there was little mitigation even in the near miracle of Kerala where they almost beat the iron law of incumbency disadvantage, operative for the last seven rounds of assembly elections.

Though written off at various points during its 34 years of uninterrupted rule, the Left Front (LF) in West Bengal had managed to script one epic triumph after another. It managed a smooth transition from the leadership of Jyoti Basu, the patriarch who led it through nearly a quarter century, and won two consecutive state elections under his handpicked successor. But when things started falling apart, the disintegration was rapid and almost catastrophic.

In the days of reflection that will inevitably come, the leadership of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the leading party of the left, will wonder what went wrong. As a party, the CPI(M) has seen its fortunes plunge from stratospheric heights to virtual rockbottom in five years. In May 2006, the last time the same five states of the union went into general elections, the left won two of them. It had at the time, 58 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament. And the Congress-led coalition, the United Progress Alliance (UPA), which ruled at the centre, was crucially dependent on its support in every legislative and policy initiative.

Today, the left has none of the major states under its control, since the north-eastern state of Tripura, which sends two members to the Lok Sabha, counts for little in national politics. Its strength in the Lok Sabha is down to 24 and the UPA has no need to seek its support in anything it undertakes.

The LF built its base in West Bengal with its visionary reforms in the agrarian sector, of which the most important were connected with the land – the registration of unrecorded tenancies and the distribution of land held above a legally notified ceiling. Towards the last years of Basu’s stewardship of the LF, the stimulus was beginning to fade. Under acute threat, the left managed to consolidate its monopoly on power because of disunity and disarray in opposition ranks. The Congress then faced what seemed an existential threat from the BJP and tended to look on the left as a friendly opponent. And the most significant leader of the Congress in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, was so bitterly alienated by this ambivalence that she chose to break away and seek an alliance with the BJP, rather than be part of it.

Coming to power just in time to capitalise on these multiple fissures in the opposition, Basu’s successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharya won a massive triumph in 2001 and followed up with an equally impressive victory five years later. He was not content with electoral trophies though and was restless for change, for diversifying the economy and setting it on a pathway to rapid industrialisation.

In effecting the course change, the CPI(M) set its cadres to work in enforcing a policy of dispossession, or turning over large tracts of land in a densely populated state to business houses whose patronage the state government seemed rather too anxious to cultivate.

Opposition ambivalence ended in 2008, when the left walked out of its alliance with the UPA at the centre, over an abstruse geopolitical issue that did not strike much of a chord with the majority of the electorate. The Congress now had an incentive to team up with Mamata Banerjee’s breakaway Trinamool Congress, which had in the years since separation, grown to be a far larger and better organised political force in West Bengal. The final defeat was foretold by the outcome of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and successive rounds of local body elections. When the decisive moment arrived, the defeat proved more crushing than anything that even the most percipient had foreseen.

The creditable performance in Kerala comes as small solace to the left. Led by V.S. Achutanandan, the sole survivor of the group that walked out of the National Council of the parent party to set up the CPI(M) in 1964, the left (which goes under the name of the Left Democratic Front in Kerala) was not given a ghost of a chance. The LDF was riven by deep factional animosities through its five years in authority, almost entirely originating within the CPI(M). But in the media spectacle that emerged, the underlying story was lost: that the LDF had provided a level of efficiency in administration that the state had not seen in years. And for this, the people of Kerala were inclined to credit Achutanandan’s leadership – which many among the newer generation thought rather hidebound and rigid, but was ultimately, about an unswerving sense of probity and political commitment. Again in a suggestion of its inability to feel the public pulse, the CPI(M) leadership first sought to isolate Achutanandan, before conceding him a ticket for reelection.

The two main national parties, ironically, had rather modest stakes in these five states. The Congress had only an indirect stake in the two largest of the five: riding piggy-back as it were, on the fortunes of powerful regional parties in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. It scored a win in one and went down to a humiliating defeat in the other.

The Tamil Nadu verdict conforms to the pattern established since at least 1991, when the two main regional formations have alternated in power, each election bringing a decisive shift. The swing this time has perhaps been stronger than before, with a powerful new ingredient being added to the mix by the brazen nepotism in the family of the incumbent chief minister, M. Karunanidhi. Kalaignar, as he is known in tribute to his literary gifts, first took office as chief minister in 1969 and at 87 has quite possibly contested his last election. He has a legacy that will unfortunately now, be forgotten as the people of Tamil Nadu seek to grapple with his least welcome political bequest: a dysfunctional family, squabbling bitterly over the spoils of office.

Expectations that the United Democratic Front (UDF) that the Congress leads in Kerala would win comfortably, were demolished and the Congress performance in terms of seats won has been decidedly worse than its main coalition partners’. The Muslim League and the Kerala Congress – both junior partners in the UDF – have scored a much greater success rate in seats contested and will almost certainly demand a commensurate share in the allocation of ministerial responsibilities. This does not suggest a smooth course ahead for the UDF ministry that will shortly be sworn in.

It is only in Assam, where it won an unprecedented majority of over two-thirds of the seats at stake, that the Congress did itself some credit. Its main opponents, the BJP and the Asom Gano Parishad, were once allies in state politics, but this time managed to fight each other to a state of paralysis by their brazen over-use of the xenophobia card in a state where the issue of illegal migrants has always been politically touchy.

The BJP which once showed the conceit of actually seeking to spread its roots into Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal, contested several of the 800 odd seats that were at stake, allowing its ambition to overwhelm rational calculation. Nobody quite knows how many seats it contested, which is an eloquent comment on its ambition, rapidly evaporating, of being the sole and singular representative party of a true Indian sense of nationality. What is germane here, is that the number of seats the BJP has won will not touch the double-digit figure.

The 2011 assembly elections underline further that the BJP will remain narrowly based in its geographical spread, since minority baiting, the key to its dominance in the few states it governs, is precisely what drives potential partners away in other parts of the country.

Left parties have always shown political courtesy: Biman

KOLKATA, May 20, 2011: Left Front chairman Biman Basu, who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Mamata Banerjee along with other CPI(M) leaders, today claimed the Left parties have always shown political courtesy in the state.

In a bid to counter criticism often levelled against the Left parties for showing discourtesy to their political adversaries, Mr. Basu argued, “In West Bengal, Left parties have shown political courtesy.”

Mr. Basu, along with former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, former State Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta and former Assembly Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim attended the ceremony.

Political observers said in other states the simple gesture of opposition party leaders attending swearing-in ceremonies would be perfectly normal, but in West Bengal it assumed a special significance as the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress rarely saw eye to eye.

Regarding expectations from the new government, which took over after 34 years of uninterrupted rule by the CPI (M)-led Left Front, Mr. Basu said, “We hope the government will work in the interest of the people. We want it to work towards upkeep of democracy and peace in the state.”

While senior Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee had personally gone to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s residence to invite him and his wife, letters were sent to others inviting them to attend the ceremony.

Exit Buddhadeb, man who saw beyond ideological convictions

14 May, 2011, 01.40PM IST, IANS

KOLKATA: With a reputation of being incorruptible and cultured, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will go down in history as a chief minister who tried to fast-track industrialisation in West Bengal. But the emotional 67-year-old was no expert in managing political contradictions and that proved his undoing.

Notwithstanding his deeprooted Marxist convictions, Bhattacharjee wooed big capital to create jobs for lakhs of unemployed youths in the state. He, however, ended up eroding his party's core constituency, seemingly proceeding too fast without preparing the stakeholders.

A yardstick for judging the quality of an administrator is also his ability to take swift and decisive decisions, but on this front he took a beating again and again, ultimately leading to the Left Front's debacle at the hands of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress and his own shock defeat at the hands of his former chief secretary in assembly polls.

The beginning of Bhattacharjee's chief ministerial stint was promising when he took over from an ailing Jyoti Basu in November 2000.

He worked with passion and dedication. He sold a dream of industrialisation and the Left Front won the 2001 polls and repeated the triumph with a bigger majority five years later as foreign investment came and there was also substantial success on the IT front that gave coveted jobs to the youth of Bengal.

For a state long known for its outward flight of capital, it seemed like a windfall in May 2006 when Tata Motors announced that its small car Nano would roll out from Singur.

However, peasants - the mainstay of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led ruling Left Front - revolted against acquisition of their land; sections in the CPI-M expressed reservations; while other Left Front partners openly dissociated themselves from the move. The Tatas shifted the plant to Gujarat.

Alongside Singur, came Nandigram. The government's bid to construct a gigantic chemical hub with Indonesia investment triggered a violent peasant unrest backed both by established political parties like the Trinamool Congress and Maoist guerrillas that ultimately led to 14 dying in police firing.

The public outcry that followed numbed the administration. The Left Front then suffered a series of debilitating electoral blows culminating in its crushing defeat.

Bhattacharjee's weakness as an administrator post-Nandigram came to the fore when he refused to take stern action to end the sit-in organised by the Trinamool near the gates of the proposed Tata Nano plant in 2008 despite the advice of some ministerial colleagues and a section of partymen.

"He allowed the sit-in in good faith thinking the opposition would not scuttle the project. Many of us felt the platform should have been dismantled," said housing minister Gautam Deb.

Bhattacharjee has admitted that he made an error of judgement.

He again delayed taking action against some police officers accused of bullying graphics teacher Rizwanur Rahman into leaving his Hindu wife, the daughter of a big businessman. As a result, the Left Front lost some Muslim support.

Born March 1, 1944 in north Kolkata, Bhattacharjee is the nephew of famous Bengali poet Sukanta and did his graduation in Bengali from the famous Presidency College. He worked as a teacher for some time, before becoming a fulltimer of the CPI-M, a party he joined in 1966.

Bhattacharjee got elected as a legislator in 1977 and was made the minister for information and culture in the first Left Front government. He got wholesome praise for his work in promoting good films, Bengali theatre and other forms of art, but lost in the 1982 polls.

He rejoined the cabinet in 1987, after winning from Jadavpore from where he won five consecutive times.

In 1993, Bhattacharjee suddenly resigned from the cabinet. Though he never spoke publicly on it, then chief minister Jyoti Basu later said he had ticked the latter off for being rude with a bureaucrat.

On his return to the cabinet, Bhattacharjee was gradually given charge of police and then made deputy chief minister, as Basu groomed him as his successor.

Bhattacharjee, a chain smoker, was an avid cricketer in his youth, and retains his passion for the game even now.

A well read man, he is known for his ability to give apt quotes from Rabindranath Tagore's writings suiting any particular situation. He is married to Meera, a corporate data centre manager. The couple have a daughter Suchetana, who is a wildlife activist.

It was under Bhattacharjee that winds of change began to blow in West Bengal , but ironically it swept away the Left Front that was in power since 1977.

With his exit, perhaps posterity will debate whether the state lost a golden opportunity to regain its place as a frontline industrialised state.

Trinamool planting weapons

KOLKATA, 17^th May,2011: Referring to the Trinamool Congress' slogan of “change, but not revenge” in the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly elections, Biman Basu, Chairman of the State Left Front Committee, cited various incidents of attacks on the supporters of Left parties since the announcement of the results on May 13 and said here on Tuesday that the Trinamool had failed to keep its word.

“The manner in which these incidents are occurring is far removed from the rhetoric of the leaders of the Trinamool Congress,” Mr. Basu said.

He also alleged that workers of the Trinamool are planting weapons in party offices and homes of local leaders of the Left parties which is the reason for the large haul of arms that have been recovered over the past few days.

He chaired a meeting of the Left Front during the day which followed a meeting of the State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

According to a press release, at the CPI (M) State Committee meeting, Mr. Basu, who is also the party's State Secretary, said even though the number of votes polled by the Left Front had increased since the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, its vote share had declined.

“A large number of people had participated in the Left Front's campaign for the Assembly elections. More and more people attended the rallies, procession and other programmes organised by the Left Front. Based on this, it had been estimated that it will be possible to form the eighth Left Front government. That has not been achieved,” Mr. Basu said, adding that the reasons for it will be examined in full.

On being asked about the comments of senior CPI(M) leader Abdur Razzak Molla on the defeat of party heavyweights, including Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Nirupam Sen, Mr. Basu said: “We do not supports his remarks.”

Mr. Molla was reportedly censured at the meeting for his comments.

Leader of Opposition

Mr. Bose denied that any discussion had been held so far on nominating the Leader of the Opposition, stating that it would be done only “after the new government has been formed.”

He also said that the Left parties had “strongly protested” the Centre's inability to tackle escalating prices and proposals to further increase fuel prices and said that a protest rally will be organised in Kolkata by the end of the month. 

CPI(M) POLIT BUREAU ON ELECTION RESULTS

New Delhi, May 16: A meeting of the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was held in New Delhi on May 16, 2011. It has issued the following statement:

On Election Results

After being in office for a record thirty four years, the Left Front suffered a big defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections. The Polit Bureau decided to conduct a detailed review of the results and draw the necessary conclusions to ascertain the causes for this defeat. The Left Front government had over the three decades registered significant achievements. Despite these, there were shortcomings in the political, governmental and organisational spheres. It is evident that the people have opted for a change and the circumstances that led to this mood among the people should be properly assessed. The Party will seriously conduct this examination and take the necessary steps to overcome the shortcomings and reconnect with the people who have been alienated.

Those who have written off the CPI(M) and the Left Front on the basis of these results are not only mistaken but will be proved wrong. Despite the electoral reverses, the Left Front has got the support of one crore 96 lakh people which is over 41 per cent of the votes polled. The CPI(M) and the Left Front  will unitedly work to expand this support base by assiduously championing the people’s interests both within the assembly and outside and launching struggles of the working people.

Kerala

In Kerala the LDF fell short of a majority by three seats. The electoral performance of the LDF shows that people have generally appreciated the work of the LDF government. The LDF polled 45.13 per cent of the votes cast which is only 0.89 per cent less than that of the UDF.  The CPI(M) and the LDF will continue to work for defending the pro-people policies and will conduct struggles in defence of the interests of the working people.

The Polit Bureau expressed its gratitude to the tens of thousands of workers of the CPI(M), the Left Front in West Bengal and the Left Democratic Front in Kerala for the hard work they have put in during the election campaign.

Election Review

The Polit Bureau decided to convene a meeting of the Polit Bureau and Central Committee from June 10 to 12, 2011 at Hyderabad. After the review conducted by the State Committees, the Central Committee will finalise the Election Review and the steps to be taken to strengthen the Party and the movement.

West Bengal Attacks Condemned

The Polit Bureau noted that immediately after the election results there have been widespread attacks on the CPI(M) and the Left Front in different parts of West Bengal. Scores of Party offices and houses of cadres and supporters have been attacked. There have two murders of CPI(M) leaders  in the last two days. In Garbeta in West Midnapore District, CPI(M) Zonal Committee Member Jiten Nandi was killed on May 14. A day later on May 15, in Bankura District, CPI(M) Local Committee Secretary of Saltora, Ajit Lohar was killed by TMC goons.

A list of the attacks which have taken place is attached.

The Polit Bureau demanded an immediate halt to the violence directed against the CPI(M) and the Left Front. The Trinamul Congress leadership has the responsibility to ensure that this violence is ended. 

The Polit Bureau calls upon the entire Party and the Left forces to stand behind the CPI(M) and the Left Front in West Bengal to face this onslaught.

The Polit Bureau appeals to all democratic forces in the country to protest against such anti-democratic attacks and physical violence directed against the opponents of the ruling alliance.

Karnataka Crisis

The BJP government headed by Yeddyurappa has been fully exposed by the Supreme Court order quashing the disqualification of 16 MLAs of the Karnataka assembly. The judgment shows how through manipulation and illegal moves the MLAs were disqualified. The Yeddyurappa government has lost all legitimacy and should resign forthwith.

The CPI(M) is of the opinion that Article 356 should not be resorted to in Karnataka.

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Results are Disappointing, Yet Left Policies Remain Relevant: POLIT BUREAU

CPI(M) Polit Bureau on Assembly Election Results

Date: 13 May 2011

West Bengal

The Left Front has suffered a big defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. The CPI(M) accepts the verdict of the people. The Party will analyse the results carefully and come to proper conclusions about the electoral reverse. After the Left Front being in office for a record 34 years continuously, the people have opted for a change. The TMC-led combine has been the beneficiary of this change.

The Left Front had won seven successive elections and governed the state for more than three decades which is unprecedented in the parliamentary democratic system in India. In this period, there were solid achievements – land reforms, a democratized panchayat system, progress in agriculture, assurance of democratic rights for the working people, for unity, integrity and communal harmony in the state. These are historic gains of the people of West Bengal and an enduring legacy.

Lakhs of people have supported and voted for the CPI(M) and the Left Front in the most adverse circumstances and against heavy odds. The Polit Bureau conveys its greetings to all of them. It assures them that the CPI(M) and the Left Front will stand by the interests of the people and struggle for the cause of the working people. The Party expresses its gratitude to the tens of thousands of Party and Left Front workers who worked tirelessly during the election campaign.

The Polit Bureau cautions that there should be no repetition of the violence that took place against the CPI(M) and the Left Front cadres and offices in the aftermath of the Lok Sabha polls in 2009. We appeal to the people to work for peace and tranquility.

Kerala

The results in Kerala show that the people have by and large endorsed the record of the LDF government of the past five years. The Left Democratic Front has very narrowly lost the elections with the UDF getting a slender majority of only two seats. This shows that there has been no anti-incumbency trend. However, some caste and religious forces have worked to influence the elections.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) conveys its warm greetings to the thousands of Party and LDF workers who have made this creditable performance in Kerala possible. The CPI(M) and the LDF will vigorously advocate alternative pro-people policies and firmly defend the interests of the working people.

Left Role

The results of West Bengal and Kerala will be a disappointment for the Left and democratic forces in the country. But this will, by no means, make the Left policies and programmes irrelevant for the country. The CPI(M) and the Left forces will not only continue to work for the people in West Bengal and Kerala but will vigorously pursue the struggle against the neo-liberal economic policies, defend the livelihood and interests of the working people and combat communalism and defend secularism in the country.

Tamilnadu

The Polit Bureau welcomes the sweeping victory of the AIADMK alliance in Tamilnadu. The AIADMK and its allies have won more than four-fifth of the seats in the Assembly. The Tamilnadu result is a decisive rejection of the corrupt misrule of the DMK and is also a verdict against the corruption which has flourished under the UPA regime at the Centre.

Assam

The Congress party has won a majority in the Assembly elections. The peace talks with the ULFA and the division in the opposition parties have contributed to the Congress victory.

Biman and Buddhadeb's Joint Statement on Poll Results

The following is the Joint Press Statement issued by Biman Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on May 13, 2011 in Kolkata

THE election result has brought a break to the historic period of the Left Front government which governed for 34 years in West Bengal. This result was unexpected. The Left Front accepts the people’s verdict and promises to perform the role of a responsible and constructive opposition in the state Assembly. The West Bengal Left Front affirms its commitment to identify the reasons of the defeat and initiate continuous corrective measures to regain people’s confidence. The Left Front pays its gratitude to those who have rendered their valuable support to the Left Front despite facing an all-out attack in such a crucial situation.

The poor and common people of this state have achieved considerable rights in the last 34 years. Working people, farmers and lower middle class of people have achieved dignity in their lives. The Left Front believes that people of the state would try to retain those achieved rights and honour.

In this post election results scenario, the Left Front appeals to the people of the state to retain the democratic environment and peace. Our appeal to the leaders, workers and followers of the Left Front is to not respond to any provocation and build up a greater family in every village, para, mahalla and ward, to work for the people’s cause. For any grievance, please lodge written complaints with specific documents to the local police station. The state and district leadership of the Left Front will stand beside the people . The MLAs of the Left Front would initiate struggle in and outside of the Assembly to safeguard the achieved rights of the people.

Decidedly mixed results

The Hindu, Date:14/05/2011  Editorial

No one explanatory framework could have held together the 2011 Assembly elections in four States and one Union Territory. The issues were different, as were the personalities, in West Bengal and Assam in the east of the country, and Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry in the south. For West Bengal, this was a watershed election, marking the end of the 34-year-rule of the Left Front headed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). A government led by Trinamool Congress, with the mercurial Mamata Banerjee as Chief Minister, will be of a very different persuasion from the ones headed by Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Having drawn on the support of sections and classes with conflicting interests, Ms Banerjee could steer the State in new, even if unpredictable, directions. In Tamil Nadu, the return to power of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, with the charismatic Ms Jayalalithaa at the helm, holds long-term import for the socio-economic development and governance of the State. As for Kerala, the 2011 contest will be best remembered for the performance of the loser, not for the victory of the Congress-led United Democratic Front. In a State known for bringing about a regime change every five years, the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front, riding a late surge created by the campaign of the octogenarian Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, almost nullified the anti-incumbency sentiment to make this the closest election since 1965, when the contest produced a hung Assembly. Assam gave the Congress and Tarun Gogoi a hat-trick of wins, something of a rarity in recent years. In Puducherry, the Congress lost to its breakaway group, the N.R. Congress led by former Congress Chief Minister N. Rangaswamy, which had fought the election in the company of the AIADMK.

In Andhra Pradesh, another breakaway group of the Congress, the YSR Congress formed by Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, has jolted the ruling party by the enormous margins of its victory in the by-elections to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly constituencies. The rise of the YSR Congress threatens to destabilise the demoralised Congress regime in South India's largest State, as many YSR loyalists might see political advantage in switching sides early. The overall consequences of the April-May 2011 elections are hard to predict. While the Congress can take some comfort from its victories in Assam, West Bengal, and Kerala, it will have to deal with increased pressures and changing equations within the United Progressive Alliance. While managing relations with a strengthened TMC will be a challenge, its alliance with the DMK is likely to face an existential crisis sooner than later, given the comprehensiveness of the Tamil Nadu rout and the increasing heat of the 2-G corruption cases.

The fall of the red citadel

By Marcus Dam

THE HINDU, KOLKATA, May 14, 2011

The “winds of change,” as described by the Trinamool Congress leadership, the first breath of which was felt in West Bengal three years ago, have finally swept from power the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government, which ruled the State for a historic 34 years. With the announcement of the Assembly election results on Friday, the red citadel has fallen.

The Left Front's much hoped-for turnaround, since it had been stung by the first of a string of reversals that began with the local bodies polls in May 2008, did not materialise. In a poll which in popular discourse was described as a contest between paribartan (change) and pratyabartan (resurgence), it is the former that has prevailed.

Anti-incumbency factor

The anti-incumbency factor was never in doubt in a State where a government had been in power for a generation and more. But that it gained in potency despite the Left Front having suffered body blows in three successive elections in as many years, only to deliver the final knock-out punch this time around, raises the question whether what had so long been perceived by the Left as a negative vote against it has finally morphed into a positive mandate for an alternative dispensation at Writers' Buildings, an endorsement for “change.”

True, it was the toughest election fought in the State in recent history. Not only was a Left Front, bruised by the electoral defeats suffered over the past three years, facing the combined might of the Trinamool and the Congress, though not for the first time, the CPI(M) in particular was up against enemies within — ones who saw the party as a route to self-aggrandisement.

The “rectification” process that has been initiated within the party is an on-going exercise that cannot afford any time schedules — and certainly not the just concluded Assembly elections.

And then there was the debate over acquisition of farmland for industry which undoubtedly became a potent issue only to redefine political priorities. There might have been “lessons learnt” from the developments at Nandigram and Singur but by then the Trinamool had extracted the maximum mileage out of them.

That the Left Front had to cope with a Trinamool leadership that made it a matter of policy not to “co-operate” with it in attempts to arrive at any sort of consensus — whether on land acquisition, to restore peace in an area troubled by violence and on matters of development — could not have made things any smoother for it, particularly when it came to governance.

Ironically, these various stances adopted by the Trinamool, governed by party chief Mamata Banerjee's fine-tuned one-point agenda of ousting the Left Front, might have added to her popularity and enhanced her acceptance by the people. For, it was her, rather than the party nominee in the fray, whom they voted for, every other leader of the Trinamool admits.

What should be particularly worrying for the Left as it goes about “taking corrective measures and making sustained efforts to regain the confidence of the people” is that it has suffered defeats at the hands of the Trinamool in places where it stood its ground even in the worst of times earlier. But then, it has never been as bad as now. Little remains of the Left bastions, wherever they were.

All this notwithstanding, the Left Front has been prompt in responding to the disastrous and “unexpected” outcome by assuring the incoming government that it would play its role “as a responsible and constructive Opposition.” As one senior leader of the CPI(M) succinctly put it, “ … most of the people wanted to see history being created. To see a new government is half the truth; the other half is to see a new Opposition.”

Only a detailed review will reveal reasons for defeat: Biman Basu

KOLKATA, May 14, 2011: Pointing out that a thorough analysis had to be done of the “unexpected debacle” suffered by the Left Front in the West Bengal Assembly elections, State Left Front Committee chairman Biman Basu said on Friday it was evident that the “Opposition's slogan for change has received the endorsement of the people.” 

“The reasons for the debacle will have to be reviewed in detail. From a preliminary assessment, it can be said we did not understand the mindset of the people, who have endorsed the slogan for change,” said Mr. Basu, who is also the State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Asked about the confidence with which he had predicted a win for the Left Front, Mr. Basu admitted that “our assessment was not right.”

Refusing to comment further on where the Left had gone wrong, Mr. Basu said that only a detailed review could reveal the reasons for its defeat.

A joint statement issued by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mr. Bose earlier in the day said the Left Front had humbly accepted the verdict of the people and assured them that it “will fulfil the duty of a responsible and constructive opposition.”

“In the last 34 years under the rule of the Left Front, the poor have earned their rights. Workers, farmers and the lower classes have earned their dignity. Left-minded people hope that in the coming days, the common people will try to preserve their rights and dignity,” said the statement.

In the evening, senior leaders of the Left parties met at the State headquarters of the CPI(M).

“The Left parties have not been born in this world to remain in government. They must wage the struggle for the people and will continue to do so,” Mr. Bose told journalists after the meeting.

Asked about the role the Left parties would play as an Opposition, he said: “We will fight the anti-people policies of the government tooth and nail.” But “if the government takes pro-people measures, we will definitely cooperate.”

Mr. Basu said he attached “no special significance” to the defeat of Mr. Bhattacharjee in Jadavpur at the hands of the Trinamool Congress' Manish Gupta.

“Other ministers have been defeated, other candidates have been defeated and he [Mr. Bhattacharjee] has also been defeated.” Even as news trickled in of local offices of the CPI(M) being attacked by Trinamool supporters, Mr. Bose said it was unfortunate.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Resigns

KOLKATA, 13th May, 2011: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Friday stepped down as West Bengal chief minister following the Left Front's drubbing in the Assembly election at the hands of the Trinamool Congress-Congress combine that saw the collapse of the 34-year-old red bastion.

Mr. Bhattacharjee’s resignation brought to an end the longest Communist rule in India since 1977.

Mr. Bhattcharjee himself trailed much behind Manish Gupta, State’s former chief Secretary, in his Jadavpur constituency.

The 66-year-old CPI(M) politburo member, who faced the toughest electoral battle in his political career, succumbed to the ‘strong winds of change’ and failed to steer the Front to victory for the eighth time in a row in West Bengal.

Known to live a spartan life, the dhoti-kurta clad Bengali ‘Bhadralok’ with a clean image, Mr. Bhattacharjee, a connoisseur of art and music, never moved out of his two-room government flat on Palm Avenue in south Kolkata during his tenure as chief minister.

Mr. Bhattacharjee took over from his mentor Jyoti Basu when the latter finally decided to step down as the country’s longest serving chief minister on health grounds in November 2000, ahead of the assembly elections in 2001 and led the LF to victory. In 1999, he was deputy chief minister of the State.

TMC-CONG ALLIANCE STROMS LEFT BASTION

KOLKATA, May 13, 2011: The Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance on Friday swept the West Bengal Assembly polls with more than a two-thirds majority, ending 34 years of Left Front rule.

Even as results were pouring in, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee tendered his resignation to Governor M. K. Narayanan at the Raj Bhavan in the afternoon.

Accepting his resignation and, inter alia, all the other members of his Council of Ministers, the Governor requested the Chief Minister and his colleagues to continue to discharge their duties till alternative arrangements are made.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee called on the Governor in the evening and staked her claim to form the next government.

All set to be the State's first woman Chief Minister, Ms. Banerjee described the landslide for the alliance as a “victory for democracy, a victory for the people, a victory for maa, mati, manush [her party slogan that translated reads: mother, soil, people]” She promised “good governance, good administration, not autocracy…The people are the winners…”

Among those who fell before the Trinamool-Congress juggernaut were Mr. Bhattacharjee and 25 Ministers, including Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, Industries and Power Minister Nirupam Sen, Housing Minister Gautam Deb and Minister for Sundarban Affairs Kanti Ganguly. In all, 34 Ministers, including the Chief Minister, were in the fray.

The Trinamool secured a majority on its own, bagging 184 of the total 294 seats. A decision on whether or not the Congress, which won 42 seats, will join the new government will be taken soon. Ms. Banerjee has, however, welcomed it and another ally, the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) to join her in the next government. The SUCI has won one seat.

Pointing out that Ms. Banerjee had achieved what the Congress could not in the past years, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that “the mandate was clearly in favour” of her. “In Bengal, a frail woman, within 13 years [since the Trinamool Congress was formed], could dismantle a strong CPI(M) party by reducing them not to a three-digit but a double-digit figure,” he said, adding that his party had, in its own, “humble way helped her achieve the success.”

The Left Front's tally was reduced to 62, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), its major constituent having to content itself with 40 seats. The position of other parties in the Left Front are: the CPI (2), AIFB (11), RSP (7), SP (1) and the Democratic Socialist Party (1).

The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha won three seats and Independents two.

“This result was unexpected,” Mr. Bhattacharjee and Biman Bose, chairman of the Left Front Committee, said in a statement adding that “the Left Front promised to play the role of a responsible and constructive Opposition.”

Confident of our victory: Buddhadeb

Wed, 05/04/2011

Kolkata, May 4 (IBNS): West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Wednesday said Left Front will retain its power in West Bengal.

“West Bengal has already undergone four out of six phases of Assembly elections. So far, the way people have exercised their democratic right, we are confident of our victory. People are going to establish eighth Left Front government in West Bengal,” Bhattacharjee said in a press statement on Wednesday.

He slammed Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and said: “Lots of efforts were put in by the Trinamool Congress to break confidence of our workers.”

“Trinamool is campaigning for an imaginary cabinet. They will also try to influence a part of voters in the coming two phases of elections. Earlier also they tried to do the same, but failed in their efforts,” said Bhattacharjee.

“I am confident that truth will prevail over lies and West Bengal’s people will ensure Left Front’s victory,” the veteran CPI-M leader said.

Over the last four years, the Left, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), suffered back-to-back poll debacles which saw their majority challenged by Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Lok Sabha, Municipal and Panchayat elections.

Nearly 85 percent of the 1.26 crore people spread across 63 constituencies in four districts of West Bengal thronged to 15,711 polling stations throughout Tuesday for the fourth phase of state elections as voting concluded without any major incidents.

This was arguably the most closely watched phase of elections so far which included some of the most politically volatile areas of the state, including Singur and Nandigram which were the centres of violent protests against the ruling Left Front government during its last tenure.

The earlier two legs also saw largely incident-free polling amid high voter turnouts.

With the fourth phase getting wrapped up, West Bengal will go to vote for the fifth and sixth legs of the six-phased polling which began on Apr 18, on May 7 and 10 respectively. The counting is on May 13.

ELECTION CAMPAIGN TOWARDS 8TH LEFT FRONT GOVERNMENT