End of communist rule in Kolkata

Victory in West Bengal for the maverick railway minister Mamata Banerjee would give her more influence over the government Voters are streaming into polling stations in India’s West Bengal state in a local election that could see a populist maverick unseat the world’s longest-serving democratically elected communist government. After 34 years of communist rule, the federal railway minister, Mamata Banerjee, a firebrand orator known as Didi or elder sister, looks set to overthrow the party blamed for leaving West Bengal and its capital Kolkata in a timewarp of Soviet-era state control . “I promise to turn north Bengal into Switzerland” she told supporters with characteristic populist rhetoric at the weekend, referring to a plan to transform the area’s railway network. The remote northern part of the state goes to the polls on Monday. Results for the month-long staggered election will be known on 13 May. Banerjee’s Trinamool party is allied to India’s ruling Congress party and her victory would give the national coalition a morale boost at a time when it has been battered by rising food prices and graft scandals. A victory for the 56-year-old would also seal her position as one of India’s most powerful regional politicians with the ability to influence the government, which is dependent on her party’s 19 seats in the 545-member national parliament. Banerjee would join a group of often fickle state chiefs – including the “untouchables” leader Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh – that often demand concessions such as extra infrastructure and social spending as a condition for support. While her victory would strengthen the coalition of the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, it would also make it more vulnerable to pressure from her. “Her attentions will be focused on West Bengal, as it is in a state of economic decline,” said Ramachandra Guha, a fellow at the Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata. “But she will certainly have an eye on the centre, and she will want to make sure she can still extract concessions for her state.” Singh’s ability to revive stalled economic reforms even after a victory for Banerjee is seen as limited because the coalition remains preoccupied with fighting off an opposition onslaught on the graft charges. Congress has 207 seats and depends on regional allies such as Trinamool to reach the 272 halfway mark in parliament. Banerjee, with her trademark white sari and bathroom slippers and spartan lifestyle, has won support with firebrand speeches and aggressive leadership against the communists that saw her once severely beaten up by a communist mob. She shares her home in Kolkata with her mother in a poor neighbourhood close to a crematorium. She is widely seen as honest in contrast to perceptions that most politicians are corrupt. Her statement on Switzerland was the kind of rhetoric that her critics say highlights her lack of real policy beyond criticising the communists. She is also seen as a fickle government ally, often refusing to attend cabinet meetings to protest against fuel price hikes and high food prices. She is also criticised for what many see as an autocratic style and for discouraging the development of new leaders in her party. As dawn broke on Monday, scores of voters formed queues outside one unopened booth, excitedly showing their identity cards to security personnel in Siliguri, 370 miles (600km) north of Kolkata. “There are no predictable results in India’s politics, but if there were, then this would be the most predictable of them all,” the Indian Express said in an editorial on Monday. Once one of the richest cities in Asia and the capital of the British empire in India, Kolkata has become a byword for poverty that has stumbled behind the new modern India of IT cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad. West Bengal has reflected wider issues in India. Banerjee’s popularity soared after she overcame communist plans to develop a Tata car plant on farmland – a battle reflecting a wider conflict between farmers and industry that has cost at least 14 lives in the state. Her party has also benefited from millions of disaffected urban voters who feel the communists have largely helped farmers at the expense of city dwellers who are demanding new jobs and better services. The communists won praise for raising the living standards of poor farmers, their voter base, when they came to power in 1977. They have a strong grassroots organisation that could upset predictions of a sweeping victory by Banerjee. Banerjee is criticised for standing more against the communists than standing for anything. She has called for industrialisation and better infrastructure in West Bengal. As railway minister, Banerjee refused to raise fares despite criticism that the network’s finances were shaky. Banerjee has also been criticised for introducing new passenger trains even though such crowd-pleasing measures strain the railways’ finances and derail freight growth. “She has promised so much to so many that following through on any of it will be problematic,” the Indian Express said. India Communism guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 18, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.