TMC Government and upcoming Assembly Elections in West Bengal
- In Current Affairs
- 05:44 PM, Mar 18, 2016
- Ranabir Bhattacharyya
The defeat of the Left Front Government exactly five years back in 2011 was considered to be a game changer for Bengal. Alas! The last five years have witnessed further deterioration of the state in all sectors. Unemployment has increased with each passing day; investors haven't found a single reason to invest here and high pitch Muslim appeasing tone has become the state anthem. A recent sting operation has revealed how the top leaders in TMC are deeply engaged in their money making nexus and 'habituated' with the unholy links of goons and dadas'. Surely the Bengalis remember the Khagragarh bomb case, where it was as clear as daylight that the ruling party played the role of a positive catalyst in sheltering the anti-national elements.
The biggest deterioration in the TMC era has been that of law and order. The police have become mere symbols and have lost their judicial power. Be it the gang rape of Suzette Jordan on Park Street or the Red Road hit and run case, immense political pressure has simply transformed the police force to paper tigers. Their ineffectiveness has given rise to more chaos and at present, all important police level decisions are taken from local party office. Honest police officers like Damayanti Sen are 'transferred' in the name of promotion in Bengal. West Bengal has the dubious distinction of topping the list of violence against women. From Park Street to Kamduni, the state organ has tried to defame the rape victim rather than disseminating justice and restoring faith amongst ordinary folks. It is often not heard in national media but real intolerance to dissent exists in Bengal. The megalomaniac trend of the present government has trampled the so called 'Bengali intelligentsia'. Schools, colleges and universities have become practiced tools of political experiments. In the name of student politics, the state propaganda of brainwashing has crippled a single generation. The condition of the health sector is not different either. Government hospitals have become safe haven for state ministers like Madan Mitra who are getting 'kingly' treatment for months. Industry has become only a common topic of interest in business summits; the government has remained clueless with their 'proposed' land bank. Illegal favors in the real estate sector has become the most effective tool for all politicians. Most industrialists have said in unison that Bengal doesn't have conducive condition for any business or industry to grow. Thus unemployment has become a nemesis and corruption in recruitment policy in the public sector has also demotivated thousands of job aspirants.
Whether the present government has got any 'moral' authority to fight in the next election, is itself a serious question. The Saradha money laundering scam has revealed that in the last election, Saradha group played a pivotal role in TMC's win and they have been a constant benefactor for them. There has been a general consensus among people that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also got huge favours from the tainted Saradha group.Of course this remains an allegation but perception is gaining ground. Minority appeasing has been so high that districts in the Indo-Bangladesh border are becoming transit points for terrorists from Bangladesh and Nepal. Vote-o-cracy has hit Bengal in such a way that religious imbalance has been supported quite intentionally to reap great benefits in the nearby election. Although BJP has time and again asked the state government to have a close look at the migration crisis, yet their lackluster attitude to the urgency of the occasion has been most frustrating.
One could fathom a guess that Congress-Left front opportunistic alliance stands a chance. In reality, a section of the diehard communists or left inclined people are not going to vote for the alliance as they are upset to see their party going together with a scam hit Congress, which has become less than a skeleton in Bengal. For the time being, it seems, BJP can seriously be a threat to TMC and also the leftist alliance in some corners of the state. But the weak foundation of the party in the state along with internal squabbles is playing a spoilsport to the progress of BJP in the state. Especially, the transition of power from Rahul Sinha to Dilip Ghosh is viewed as a stronger RSS foothold, rather than a poll oriented BJP’s signature. Although it would be an exaggeration to say that TMC party under Mamata Banerjee will be getting complete walkover in the upcoming Assembly Election in Bengal, but the chances of getting a majority looks quite plausible as of now. Whether there will be 100% installment of central police reserve forces in all polling booths of Bengal or not, is not at all confirmed. Thus, in the present scenario of manufactured political violence by the ruling TMC, fair election is indeed a utopian idea and the rural belt is already witnessing huge influx of guns and firearms. Truly, the Leftist legacy of political violence is ably carried on by the TMC and they will surely make an effort to ensure their win by all means in Bengal.
Political analysts have remained confused in comparing the 'damaging quotient' of CPIM and the TMC. No doubt the leftist politics didn't bring anything worthwhile to Bengal in more than three decades. TMC has been no better. In absence of a credible and viable alternative to TMC it remains to be seen whether the people in Bengal can judiciously cast their vote for peace, harmony and development in Bengal.
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