Buddhadeb-Rahul rally, a 'historic' moment for Bengal

Crowd cheers call to 'oust TMC, save Bengal', as Buddhadeb accuses Trinamool of creating environment of fear in the state

It was a rare sighting for Bengal when the two architects of the Congress-Communist Party of India (Marxist) alliance -- Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Rahul Gandhi -- that is giving Trinamool Congress the jitters, addressed a joint rally at Park Circus Maidan today, ahead of the fifth phase of assembly elections.

"Bengal may have seen many rallies, Park Circus Maidan may have seen many rallies, but none like this. It's a historic moment for Bengal. We, the Communists and the Congress have come together to fight the destruction that has engulfed Bengal in the past five years. We have to fight together," Bhattacharjee said, and then gave the clarion call, "TMC hatao, Bangla banchao (oust TMC, save Bengal)."

The crowd that had more Congress workers because the rally was primarily organised by it, cheered as he spoke. This was Bhattacharjee's second campaign event; his first public appearance was last week in a road show that saw a huge turnout.

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Bhattacharjee, who happens to be the communist party's biggest crowd-puller, had stayed away from active campaigning, so far, while focusing on backroom manoeuvres.

Bhattacharjee, who had dreamt of industrialising Bengal during his tenure, chose to stick to his pet subject.

"People across the country are laughing at Bengal today. If this government stays, no factories will come to Bengal. Till Trinamool is here, nothing will happen. They have created an environment of fear. They are threatening the judiciary, media. This can't go on. This misrule has to end. We can form the government again. We know how to run the government," is how Bhattacharjee signed off.

The Congress Vice President too started with the unemployment issue. "Five years back, Mamata ji had promised to give employment to 70 lakh youth. Congress had believed it and supported her. But the youths did not get employment. Jute workers lost their jobs," he said.

In the middle of his speech, Gandhi stopped during Azaan.

And then the call to form the government. "Haturi haath me aa gaya (the hammer is now in hand), now TMC will be removed. Congress and Left alliance will bring back the glory of West Bengal," he said.

The Congress and Communists have had a zenith-nadir relationship. The personal rapport that Jyoti Basu - who ruled Bengal as Chief Minister for 23 years -shared with Indira Gandhi is well known. But that ended with Indira Gandhi's demise and hit a low in 1985 when Rajiv Gandhi famously said, "Calcutta is a dying city."

But as they say, in politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies. CBI director and Bengal DGP Arun Prosad Mukherjee had said in his book, Unknown Facets of Rajiv Gandhi, Jyoti Basu, Indrajit Gupta, that Rajiv Gandhi had pleaded with Basu twice in 1990 and 1991 to become the Prime Minister.

In 2004, however, the Left Front with its 59 members of Parliament had facilitated to form the UPA government. But in 2008, it withdrew support on account of the nuclear deal and brought upon a vote of confidence in Parliament which the UPA narrowly survived.

Today's rally has taken the relationship to yet another level. The legacy continues.