Here's why Mamata Banerjee is supporting GST

The West Bengal CM wants to have a bigger play in national politics and today's GST meeting is a clear indication of that

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appeared seemingly satisfied after holding her first administrative meeting in the second term, at Jhargram in West Medinipur.

“Good work has happened in West Medinipur district. The process of development must continue,” she said on Tuesday. But Banerjee had other reasons also to be happy.

Some 170 km from Jhargram, 23 state finance ministers attended the first meeting of the empowered committee on the goods and services tax (GST), chaired by West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra in Kolkata. From what Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, it looked like a unified tax regime could well become a reality as all states except Tamil Nadu were on board. So far, Banerjee is par for the course.

After the empowered committee’s meeting concluded, Mitra said GST was a win-win for all and would benefit industry and consumer. He finally signed off by reiterating Banerjee’s support for GST.

A week ago, Banerjee had instructed Mitra to iron out the differences in one or two meetings and pave the way for GST, at an event organised by chambers of commerce to mark Trinamool Congress’ resounding victory in the elections.

It was not the first time that the chief minister had publicly extended support to GST; support for GST first found mention in the 2009 Trinamool Congress manifesto. The apparent rationale was that a single tax was pro-people.

But could there possibly be some other motivation? It's hardly a secret that Banerjee wants a bigger play in national politics. Yet when the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in Bengal spurred speculation of a federal front — what with the participation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, National Conference's Farooq Abdullah and RJD's Lalu Prasad — Banerjee had brushed it aside by saying, “I am a less important person, if anyone comes to me for help, I can help.”

Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said: “She could go with a federal front while maintaining equidistance with the Congress and the BJP.”

In sync with that strategy, Banerjee appears to have become a galvanising force for regional parties, somewhat reminiscent of Jyoti Basu’s times. In the 1990s and 2000s, Basu and Harkishen Singh Surjeet had built a political front of the Left, democratic and secular forces to take on the Congress and the BJP. The National Front and United Front governments were a culmination of this effort.

“In her second innings, Mamata Banerjee is unlikely to restrict her ambitions to the state level, “Chakraborty said. “She could either be a prime minister-aspirant or a kingmaker in 2019. With GST, she is paving her entry into national politics. Going forward, she is likely to take up more issues of national interest.”

Also, GST is likely to help Banerjee build a pro-industry image at the national level, so far seen as a rabble-rouser after the ouster of the Nano project.