By Amulya Ganguli
Mamata Banerjee does not seem to have learnt any lessons from the humiliation she suffered only a few months ago, when her attempt to needle the Congress on the issue of the presidential elections ended in a fiasco. Ultimately, she had to eat humble pie and support the same person whom she had earlier derided as a “son of the world”.
What the episode should have taught her was the folly of trying to punch above her weight. It was important for her to remember at the time that she was basically a minor player (as she still is), a local chieftain, who has gained in prominence because of the peculiarities of the present political situation where the national parties have lost their earlier clout.
However, notwithstanding the diminution of their influence, these parties, such as the Congress, still retain enough weight to persuade a troublesome ally not to be too uncooperative. This was what dissuaded Mulayam Singh Yadav from going along with Mamata’s weird plan of sponsoring either APJ Abdul Kalam or Manmohan Singh or Somnath Chatterjee for the president’s post.
The Samajwadi Party realized in the nick of time that to follow a regional leader on an issue of national importance might lead him into a blind lane. It is the same now when he has offered to stand by the Congress after Mamata’s withdrawal of support – in a repeat of 2008, when Mulayam Singh backed the Congress when the Left withdrew its support.
Mamata’s earlier blunders were due to her apparent dislike for Pranab Mukherjee, who had treated her with scant regard when she was in the Congress. It was this personal slant, rather than any appreciation of the larger picture where Mukherjee was being supported by even some of the opposition parties like the Janata Dal (United) and the Shiv Sena, that Mamata staged a protest against Mukherjee’s candidature.
A similar blind spot has led her to oppose the latest package of reforms. Considering that the “larger picture” in this case underlines an across-the-board opposition to the measures, she can claim that she is on the right track. But, she is seemingly oblivious of a similar across-the-board disinclination of the political parties for an early election.
Even the Samajwadi Party, which claims that it is prepared for the polls, may not be in too much of a hurry because of two reasons. One is the possibility of a tacit understanding between the BSP and the Congress in UP, which will present a formidable challenge to the Samajwadi Party.
The other is that the latter’s record so far in governance hasn’t been all that bright. It may have been able to partly check the upsurge of rowdyism by its cadres, but chief minister Akhilesh Yadav continues to give the impression of being under the thumb of his father and uncles.
It is also undeniable that the bonhomie during the anti-reforms bandh between the Left and BJP leaders at Jantar Mantar hasn’t refurbished the images of either since it underlines their opportunism. Considering that it is the same cynical togetherness which is likely to be seen in the coming days between an anti-reforms and anti-American Left and a supposedly pro-reforms and pro-American BJP, neither will be seen as the standard-bearer of principled politics.
So, as at the time of the presidential election, Mamata has blundered into the quagmire of national politics where she is a babe-in-the-woods situation. A recourse to the kind of impulsive, provocative, combative tactics, which enabled her to rout the communists in West Bengal, may not help her at the national level.
It may not help her in the state either because she hasn’t exactly covered herself with glory in the 16 months that she has been in office. While there is visible relief all around if she does not call upon the police to arrest a questioner, her paranoia is obvious. As much was evident from her belief that the conspiracies against her ranged from “Hungary sometimes, sometimes Korea, sometimes Venezuela”, as she once told Washington Post.
It is also obvious that the state can expect no development because of her lack of familiarity with the economic ground realities. Where her predecessor as chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, realized the Left’s mistake of driving out the capitalists and tried to undo the damage by inviting the private sector, Mamata does not seem to have any concept of economic resuscitation.
Her animus against the Tatas may have been a part of her anti-Left campaign, but it has acted as a warning to all investors. Now, their reluctance to invest in West Bengal will be enhanced by her embracement of the brand of socialism, which she imbibed as a member of the Congress.
It is doubtful, however, whether everyone in the state is convinced that her anti-reforms stance is either ideological, as in Left’s case, or is based on sheer expediency, like that of the BJP. Instead, it is likely to be seen, first, as an attempt to overtake the Left from the left and, secondly, as an expression of an inability to comprehend the economic dynamics of the globalised world. (IPA Service)