A K Bhattacharya: Election Commission, Bengal & Left
NEW DELHI DIARY
| Democracy, as they say, is a great leveller. The Election Commission can legitimately pat itself on the back for what it has achieved. But those who thought that tighter surveillance over the conduct of elections would result in a decline in the number of seats for the Left Front in the new assembly should be ready for a rude shock. The exit poll results for the first two rounds of polling show that the Left Front is set to return to Writer's Building for a record sixth consecutive term and with a larger number of assembly seats under its belt. And the irony is that the Election Commission's efforts at tightening the poll procedures have actually helped the Left Front. |
| In a state where the Congress offers no challenge to the Left and the other opposition party, the Trinamool Congress, provides no viable alternative, the Left Front's organisational apparatus is bound to suffer from complacency. It is also natural for the Left Front to fall prey to over-confidence, as it won the last six assembly elections in a row with relative ease. Thus, the emergence of the Election Commission along with its tight supervision of the poll process became the much-needed rallying point for the Left Front party workers. The common man in Bengal was relieved that the Election Commission would ensure free and fair poll. But the Left Front took this as a challenge to its leadership position. The party apparatus was beefed up to face this challenge. The death of CPI(M) state committee secretary Anil Biswas, a few weeks before the assembly polls, was a big blow. But soon the tragedy became another rallying point to strengthen the resolve of the Left workers to retain their hold over the state. |
| West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also made a big difference. In a smart move months before the last assembly elections, Jyoti Basu stepped down as the head of the West Bengal government and handed over the reins to Mr Bhattacharjee. In 2001, the Left Front offered him as the new face of the administration that would grapple with the state's problems. In the last five years, Mr Bhattacharjee has made headway in embarking on new strategies and unveiling new policies to revive Bengal's economic fortunes. |
| An attempt has been made to attract more foreign investment to the state. In 2004-05, the state got about Rs 280 crore of foreign investment in over 30 projects, much more than what it got in previous years. That the United States is the largest foreign investor in Bengal is an indication that Mr Bhattacharjee has cast aside the ideological positions that his party would advocate and his primary concern is to take steps that create more jobs for the people of the state. Contract farming has been allowed and multinational firms are engaged in such activities helping Bengal's farmers improve their earnings. Sick industrial enterprises are being either closed down or handed over to the private sector through strategic sales of equity. Today, Bengal's per capita income at Rs 22,497 is almost 40 per cent more than what it used to be five years ago. This may still be lower than the national average, but the progress made is not to be ignored. |
| Apart from a strong organisation, what has stood the Left Front in good stead is its ability to project a leader as the chief ministerial candidate. In this election and the previous one, the Left Front projected Mr Bhattacharjee as the chief ministerial candidate. Neither the Trinamool Congress nor the Congress could offer any such credible face. Even the most ardent supporter of the Trinamool Congress would accept that Mamata Banerjee is not a face that most voters in Bengal would like to see as the state chief minister. In any case, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has proved through his work and functioning style that he is the state's best ambassador and most effective administrator. |
| While the state administration in Bengal lost no time to adjust its policies to suit the requirements of the people and the state economy, the party leadership also did not shy away from its responsibility of grooming successors. The switch from Jyoti Basu to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was fairly smooth and the sudden demise of Anil Biswas did not leave any void in the Left Front as a successor was quickly appointed. Such clarity and decisiveness do yield electoral dividends. The Left Front is a beneficiary of such dividends. The question is: Will the Congress and the BJP learn anything from this? akb@business-standard.com |