The campaign for the crucial assembly elections in the Indian state of West Bengal has reached a feverish pitch with the war of words between the two main political groups getting increasingly belligerent as the state readies itself for the first phase of voting by the end of the current month. The alliance of the Trinamul Congress and main Congress is posing a serious threat to the ruling leftists this time and its leaders seem to be in a mood that they are on the brink of ending the 34 years of uninterrupted rule by the communists in a state which is seen as the strongest bastion of left politics in India. While Trinamul supremo mercurial Mamta Bannerjee is criss-crossing the state tirelessly with the hope that her party would be in power in West Bengal soon, Congress heavyweights Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee and Rahul Gandhi too are not lagging behind to drum up support for the alliance candidates. On the other hand, the Left front, clearly on the defensive this time for a variety of reasons, is putting a brave face by asserting that its domination in the state politics would remain unaltered even though the Front concedes that it may lose some ground. The state is going to polls in several phases from end this month to early next month and the outcome would be known by middle of May. Only seldom elections in West Bengal have generated the kind of interest that is being witnessed in 2011 and the event is billed as the one of the most important contemporary events in India. The West Bengal developments are also a matter of great curiosity and interest in Bangladesh because of geographical and other proximities. The ascendancy of the leftists in the West Bengal has been so overwhelming that they won almost a near-landslide 235 seats in the 294-member "Vidhan Shaba" in the last elections, sending the opponents Trinamul and the Congress into disarray. It maintained a good track record in the previous elections as well, turning the state of West Bengal into a great success story for the communists after their coming into power through democratic method. Although in only a component state of India, leftists all over the world have been deriving inspiration and sustenance from this success for the 34 years, particularly at a time when the communists tasted more bad developments than the good ones. But things have started changing as the last federal elections and the subsequent municipal polls marked a reversal of the fortunes with the political opponents of the ruling left Front making significant strides. This has led to the belief that the tide is turning against the communists although it is uncertain whether the extent of the change would be enough for the Trinamul-Congress alliance to come to power in the state. Unquestionably, Mamta Bannerje is leading the opposition bandwagon and it is almost certain that she would become the chief minister if her party in league with the Congress succeeds in forming a government after the balloting. Mamta, the federal railway minister and a member of the Lokshaba from a Kolkata parliamentary constituency, herself is not seeking the assembly polls. But it is not in doubt that she is eyeing the power in the state, a desire that now appears very near her. Trinamul party under Mamta had once revolted against the main Congress and remained confined only to West Bengal. Initially a force to reckon with, the organisation later lost much of the steam, but bounced back in stunning fashion in collusion with the main Congress since the last federal polls more than two years ago, followed by its sweeping the municipal elections. The Trinamul has given 65 seats to the Congress, contesting the rest with the hope that it may alone win absolute majority to form the government. In case of shortfall, the Congress is expected to extend the support for ending the long rule of their common political foe, the leftists. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has launched trenchant attack on the ruling Front when she addressed several rallies in Jalphaiguri and other areas Friday while her son party general secretary Rahul Gandhi toured Maldah and other areas Thursday. Both said West Bengal is the most backward state in India as it failed to make any tangible progress during the more than three decades of communist rule. Mamta is more virulent as she is asking the electorate to throw the communists into the "Bay of Bengal" to end their misrule. But chief minister Bhuddhadev Mukherjee brushes aside such allegations, saying the state made tremendous progress under their honest government with many people-welfare programmes giving benefits to the masses. It appears that the Front is somewhat humstrung because of anti-incumbency factor and is clearly confronting a big challenge. For the alliance, it is not all that rosy a picture as the seat adjustment between the Trinamul and the Congress is a sour point with many rebels from both parties being in the fray, causing some discomfort. Besides, big promises by the alliance leaders are also being seen with a certain degree of scepticism. Nonetheless, the overall election scenario favours the alliance and now it remains to be seen how far it really helps them in getting votes. [email protected]
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