Indian polls: Congress emerges gainer despite setbacks*****
Monday, 16 May 2011
Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury
As the dust raised by the elections in five Indian states is now settling down following announcement of the results, an analysis of the outcome shows that the federal-ruling Congress led by Sonia Gandhi has emerged gainer from the polls although it suffered setbacks as well. The party's biggest achievement has been the success in demolishing the communist citadel in West Bengal, where, however, the main credit for the development goes to the Trinamul Congress and its leader Mamata Banerjee, who was at the vanguard of the remarkable change. Congress deeply relishes the dethroning of the Left Front from power in the state after 34 years as the leftists appeared to be the nemesis for the federal government even though the two sides have something in common like adhering to secularism. The communists, who had initially extended support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, later withdrew its support centering the Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement in 2008. Since then, the leftists, whose governments were in charge in West Bengal and also in the southern state of Kerala, were in daggers-drawn relationship with the Congress. As the leftists have lost power in both the states, the Congress is now evidently heaving a sigh of relief. In West Bengal, the victory by the Trinamul-led alliance of which the Congress is the smaller partner, romped home too easily as they secured nearly three-fourth of the seats in the 294-member state assembly - the "Bidhan Shaba". It was virtually a cakewalk that few could anticipate and the "Red Fort", the strongest presence of the communists in India, has been captured by mercurial Mamata Baneerjee in collusion with the Congress. The Left Front were in power in West Bengal since 1977 and legendary communist leader Jyoti Basu was in the helm till a few years ago when he voluntarily relinquished the chief ministership on health grounds. But an aging Basu remained active in politics till his death last year. His successor Bhuddudev Bhattacharaya had led the leftists well in the 2006 assembly polls when the communists bagged 235 seats in the house. This time, it is a near turnaround for them very unfortunately. The "Mamata bandwagon" that was discernible in the last Lok Shaba elections and subsequently in the municipal polls and reached the zenith in the 2011 state legislature balloting. The Trinamul alone has secured comfortable absolute majority - the cup of merriment is undoubtedly full to the brim for Mamata, who is now on the verge of becoming the chief minister of West Bengal. Already the federal railway minister, she nurtured the chief ministership for long and her political patience and timely and correct steps over the last few years paid handsome dividends. The Congress has more to cheer as it has been able to wrest power from the leftists in Kerala - albeit through a marginal win. The alliance headed by it just managed to scrape through in the 140-member house by capturing 72 seats while the leftists bagged 68 seats. Nonetheless, this is a win that will provide the Congress government in Kerala, which may be unstable because of the slender majority. For the communists, the elections have dealt double-blow since they lost in both their strongholds - West Bengal and Kerala. But they are seeking to put a brave face by saying that leftists politics is not based on only being in government, but much wider dimension covering the welfare of the people. "We are very much there and the setbacks will not frustrate us, but encourage us in the future course in the quest of serving the people," said central leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Prakash Karat. The leftists, who ruled West Bengal for an uninterrupted 34 years and Kerala intermittently, are known for their honest and selfless services. But the anti-incumbency factor coupled with several policy-related mistakes have cost them very dearly. The Congress, on the other hand, suffered setback in the Tamil Nadu, where its ally DMK of M Karunanidhi has been ousted from power by his political foe Jayaram Jayalalitha, whose ADMK party-led alliance won more than two-third of the seats in a stunning fashion. The Congress also had bad news from Pondicerry, the small state, where the ADMK won the polls. However, the Congress derives delight from Assam, where it has been able to retain power. The voting has given the Congress a mixed bag, but in the ultimate analysis the party is a gainer mainly because of the favourable results in West Bengal and Kerala. This has come as a shot in the arm for the organisation as both the states often defied the federal government. The outcome of West Bengal has been of particular happiness and relief for Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as they have succeeded in finally removing the communists from power. The Congress is quite weak in this state and they have done the "change" in league with the Trinamul, which has emerged as the real political force in West Bengal. Now, as a new government is poised to take over in West Bengal, it remains to be seen whether it would be a Trinamul government or a coalition including the Congress. Mamata Banerjee, is now the most-talked about figure in the context of the recent state assembly polls since she has accomplished what seemed nearly invincible. A 'rebel', who once broke away from the main Congress, had a topsy-turvy political journey that eventually saw her in the pinnacle. However, she faces a big challenge in meeting the aspirations of the people, which she says, is difficult but not impossible. Time will say how far she would be successful while little doubt exists about her sincere efforts since she is known for simple living and a high degree of integrity. Nevertheless, she will confront the vociferous opposition in the form of the communists, who say they would spare no efforts in sensitising issues that are inextricably linked with people's interests. The writer can be reached at e-mail:zaglulbss@yahoo.com
As the dust raised by the elections in five Indian states is now settling down following announcement of the results, an analysis of the outcome shows that the federal-ruling Congress led by Sonia Gandhi has emerged gainer from the polls although it suffered setbacks as well. The party's biggest achievement has been the success in demolishing the communist citadel in West Bengal, where, however, the main credit for the development goes to the Trinamul Congress and its leader Mamata Banerjee, who was at the vanguard of the remarkable change. Congress deeply relishes the dethroning of the Left Front from power in the state after 34 years as the leftists appeared to be the nemesis for the federal government even though the two sides have something in common like adhering to secularism. The communists, who had initially extended support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, later withdrew its support centering the Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement in 2008. Since then, the leftists, whose governments were in charge in West Bengal and also in the southern state of Kerala, were in daggers-drawn relationship with the Congress. As the leftists have lost power in both the states, the Congress is now evidently heaving a sigh of relief. In West Bengal, the victory by the Trinamul-led alliance of which the Congress is the smaller partner, romped home too easily as they secured nearly three-fourth of the seats in the 294-member state assembly - the "Bidhan Shaba". It was virtually a cakewalk that few could anticipate and the "Red Fort", the strongest presence of the communists in India, has been captured by mercurial Mamata Baneerjee in collusion with the Congress. The Left Front were in power in West Bengal since 1977 and legendary communist leader Jyoti Basu was in the helm till a few years ago when he voluntarily relinquished the chief ministership on health grounds. But an aging Basu remained active in politics till his death last year. His successor Bhuddudev Bhattacharaya had led the leftists well in the 2006 assembly polls when the communists bagged 235 seats in the house. This time, it is a near turnaround for them very unfortunately. The "Mamata bandwagon" that was discernible in the last Lok Shaba elections and subsequently in the municipal polls and reached the zenith in the 2011 state legislature balloting. The Trinamul alone has secured comfortable absolute majority - the cup of merriment is undoubtedly full to the brim for Mamata, who is now on the verge of becoming the chief minister of West Bengal. Already the federal railway minister, she nurtured the chief ministership for long and her political patience and timely and correct steps over the last few years paid handsome dividends. The Congress has more to cheer as it has been able to wrest power from the leftists in Kerala - albeit through a marginal win. The alliance headed by it just managed to scrape through in the 140-member house by capturing 72 seats while the leftists bagged 68 seats. Nonetheless, this is a win that will provide the Congress government in Kerala, which may be unstable because of the slender majority. For the communists, the elections have dealt double-blow since they lost in both their strongholds - West Bengal and Kerala. But they are seeking to put a brave face by saying that leftists politics is not based on only being in government, but much wider dimension covering the welfare of the people. "We are very much there and the setbacks will not frustrate us, but encourage us in the future course in the quest of serving the people," said central leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Prakash Karat. The leftists, who ruled West Bengal for an uninterrupted 34 years and Kerala intermittently, are known for their honest and selfless services. But the anti-incumbency factor coupled with several policy-related mistakes have cost them very dearly. The Congress, on the other hand, suffered setback in the Tamil Nadu, where its ally DMK of M Karunanidhi has been ousted from power by his political foe Jayaram Jayalalitha, whose ADMK party-led alliance won more than two-third of the seats in a stunning fashion. The Congress also had bad news from Pondicerry, the small state, where the ADMK won the polls. However, the Congress derives delight from Assam, where it has been able to retain power. The voting has given the Congress a mixed bag, but in the ultimate analysis the party is a gainer mainly because of the favourable results in West Bengal and Kerala. This has come as a shot in the arm for the organisation as both the states often defied the federal government. The outcome of West Bengal has been of particular happiness and relief for Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as they have succeeded in finally removing the communists from power. The Congress is quite weak in this state and they have done the "change" in league with the Trinamul, which has emerged as the real political force in West Bengal. Now, as a new government is poised to take over in West Bengal, it remains to be seen whether it would be a Trinamul government or a coalition including the Congress. Mamata Banerjee, is now the most-talked about figure in the context of the recent state assembly polls since she has accomplished what seemed nearly invincible. A 'rebel', who once broke away from the main Congress, had a topsy-turvy political journey that eventually saw her in the pinnacle. However, she faces a big challenge in meeting the aspirations of the people, which she says, is difficult but not impossible. Time will say how far she would be successful while little doubt exists about her sincere efforts since she is known for simple living and a high degree of integrity. Nevertheless, she will confront the vociferous opposition in the form of the communists, who say they would spare no efforts in sensitising issues that are inextricably linked with people's interests. The writer can be reached at e-mail:zaglulbss@yahoo.com