OPINION: The ball is in your court, Mr CM

FROM THE DAY AFTER

A stern, serious, and somewhat worried appearance is fast enveloping the perfect gentleman image of the West Bengal Chief Minister, as he faces the daunting task of reviving the fortunes of his party in the wake of a massive anti-Left wave, says Diganta Guha

When he had taken over as the West Bengal Chief Minister in 2001 from the veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu, everyone, particularly the one, belonging to the younger section of the people of the state, was happy. “Finally, a fresh and young face to cheer for,” was the buzz. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee epitomised he perfect Bengali bhadralok—bearing little resemblance to his more illustrious predecessor who unmistakably carried, even in his dhoti and Punjabi, signs of an English-educated aristocratic upbringing.

Some eight years down the line, the Presidency College alumnus finds himself on a sticky wicket, perhaps something he had never imagined. First it was the humiliation his party, CPI (M), experienced in the recent Lok Sabha Elections and, to make it worse, came the Aila devastation, the Maoist-instigated violence in Lalgarh and the loss in the Municipality polls.

Criticism from everywhere and also from within his own party has dented his public image. “He thought he was above everything, but look, where he finds himself now,” lambasts one of his critics in his party.

Many in the political circle of West Bengal are of the view that the man’s nemesis has been his lack of proper understanding of the political reality. He lacks Basu’s charisma. Secondly, he does not seem to have too many people within the party, whom he can trust. In the Government he apparently relies on a few bureaucrats who are not exactly known for their efficiency. Outside the party and the Government, there are a few selected writers, intellectuals, journalists and celebrities in the field of film and culture, who are believed to be close to him. That he apparently feels more comfortable with them than his comrades may be a canard shrewdly propagated by his opponents, but it has in a way widened the gap between him and his party colleagues.

In his initial years as Chief Minister he sought to come out of the shadow of his one-time boss and predecessor Basu, and make a mark of his own. During this period a section of the media went all out to create a brand Buddha in a clever design to alienate him from the party. But the Nandigram and Singur fiascos that gave Trinamool Congress’ Mamata Banerjee mileage only dampened the spirits of the sincere CPI (M) activists who were rendered helpless. These issues not only bear testimony to Buddhadeb’s inept handling of the administrative machinery of the state, but also his lack of political sagacity.

In the case of Gorkhaland movement he mismanaged the affairs, giving too much of leverage to Minister Ashok Bhattacharjee who failed to defuse the situation. Instead of cashing in on the infighting within the Gorkhaland National Liberation Front, Ashok’s ambition metamorphosed the internal rivalry of GNLF into a fight between Gorkhaland and CPI (M) and later, into one between Gorkhaland and Bengal.

Similarly, in the case of Nandigram, Buddhadeb failed to control Lakshman Seth, the-then MP and the most formidable leader of CPI(M) in the area. This only resulted in defeats after defeats- first in the Panchayat Elections and then, in the Lok Sabha Polls.

Buddhadeb’s calculations have all gone wrong. He tried to showcase West Bengal as an industrial hub and in the process ignored the rural belt. Calling the Salims and Tatas to set up industries at the expense of the needs of the poor farmers has backfired on him and the LF. Says a party functionary, “There was no level-playing field in West Bengal. He backed only a few elites in the industrial sector and that left others sulking. Also, he went on making commitments without understanding the real picture.” His critics say that the pro-development image that he attempted to build is not sustainable, since it was his predecessor who had developed industrial infrastructures including power, and initiated the process of promoting investments in the state . “What exactly has he (Buddhadeb) done? He has only made a mess of the situation despite warnings from several quarters,” says one.

But did anyone ever imagine that Buddhadeb who enjoys a clean image in a country where corruption has taken deep roots in high places will turn out to be such a big failure as an administrator? In fact, the senior officers who had worked with him, point out that in 2001, immediately after he had taken over charge from Basu, he went on changing his arrogant image assiduously projected by a section of the media. He trusted the old guard in bureaucracy. Eyebrows had been raised when he had been put up as the best candidate to take over from Basu. Thanks largely to Basu and the late CPI (M) leader Anil Biswas who had quite smartly pushed him up the order despite the presence of senior leaders. Buddhadeb rose to become the Chief Minister, much to the chagrin of many of his partymen. Basu, according to an unconfirmed report, had initially wanted Chatterjee to succeed him, and the former Lok Sabha Speaker was even asked to contest the Assembly Elections.

But two election triumphs (2001 and 2006) made Buddhadeb complacent. According to a CPI (M) functionary, he wanted to do everything on his own and was never a believer in team work unlike Basu. This only made things worse for him as his alliance partners felt ignored. Some would love to describe him as a person who easily gets influenced and that’s where his fault lies. His cultural background helped him get close to the intellectuals who have supported him throughout. But some of them backed out and openly supported Mamata on the Poriborton chai (We want change) plank. Some of his staunchest critics see his proximity to the intellectuals as a distraction that has hampered his job as an administrator.

But despite all this, the good news coming from party sources is that he has become more down-to-earth. His party and he have finally woken up to the danger looming large, though, it might be too late. Of late he is travelling a lot and visiting people in various parts of the state. In spite of some dissenting voices, the party is still behind him and even the United Progressive (UPA) Government has a soft corner for him though there might be some political compulsion, and even some design behind it.

The Trinamool is already making waves and it remains to be seen whether the Buddhadeb-led government can face the further onslaught coming their way. As a party veteran points out, “It is unlikely that he will be replaced because whether you like it or not, he is still the public face of the government and there is no one worth that position.”

It may be true that even now- after all his failures in governance- many people would like him to continue beyond 2011, despite all the pro-change wave, because the people’s mandates are more against the corruption and arrogance of the grass-root level leaders of CPI(M) than in support of the opposition parties in the state. If governance improves perceptibly, and the discredited local political bosses are marginalised, then things may look up for Buddhadeb and the Left Front. Changes in the ministry are called for to improve government performance in some vital social and infrastructure sectors. In elections people may like to see some new faces. It is time that the CPI(M) took the radical decision to infuse new blood in the Legislature and the Government. Here again doubts exist if Buddhadeb and the top leadership in the party will be bold enough to make such radical changes.

But time is running out. It’s ‘do it now’ for Buddhadeb!