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Mamata's gains and losses
Saturday September 22, 2012 10:38:43 PM,
Pradipta Tapadar,
IANS
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Kolkata: Trinamool
Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's
decision to withdraw support to the UPA regime seems to have been
guided by political calculations intended to bolster her popular
pro-poor pro-people image besides helping her steal a march over
arch-rival Communists.
However, at the same time, the pullout stood the risk of
boomeranging on the feisty leader who could lose out on central
financial assistance for her debt-ridden state, while many of the
projects started by her as railway minister could face a natural
death.
Unlike her image of being impulsive, Banerjee's political decision
was based on broader consensus among the party colleagues.
"This is for the first time I have seen that a decision has been
taken after wide-ranging discussions within the party," said a
senior Trinamool Congress MP on the condition of anonymity.
"It is a well calculated political decision keeping in mind our
party's pro-poor credentials."
Banerjee's decision has saved her from the embarrassment of being
party to tough decisions taken by the central government.
The decision has also helped Banerjee to take the wind out of the
sails of her arch-rivals Communists, who had been repeatedly
labelling her as party to decisions of the UPA (United Progressive
Alliance), of which her Trinamool party was the second-largest
constituent.
Banerjee also apparently firmed up her decision to withdraw
support to the UPA by railing against the diesel price hike,
restriction on number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders per
household to six annually -- issues that connect easily with the
common man.
These issues also appear to be firmly rooted to the ground
compared to the theoretical and intellect-laced Indo-US Nuclear
deal -- on which the Left had withdrawn support from the
Congress-led UPA-1 in 2008.
It also provided her the much-needed opportunity to distance her
party from the scam- plagued Congress.
"The image of Trinamool was getting hurt because of the scams of
the Congress, it would have affected our national ambitions as we
want to play a much bigger role in national politics after the
next general elections," the MP said.
With crucial rural polls knocking at the door and the Bengal
Congress always up in arms against the state government, the
break-up would help Trinamool stretch its wings even in the
Congress bastions, which they have been eyeing, to emerge as the
only formidable force against the Left.
On the flip side, if the Congress calls Banerjee's bluff and
survives without its support, then the railways projects that
Trianmool had announced for Bengal during her tenure at Rail
Bhawan will die a natural death.
(Pradipta
Tapadar can be contacted at pradipta.t@ians.in)
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