Mamata magic!

Arindam Sarkar

In 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee won the Assembly elections. In 2013, Mamata stormed the panchayat polls. And on April 28, 2015, she swept 70 out of the 91 municipalities and retained control over the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. In the battle for Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Trinamool Congress captured a record 114 out of the 144 wards at fray. 

Coming just a year before the Assembly elections in West Bengal, this victory has given a fillip to Mamata, whose administration is reeling under the impact of the ponzy scam. But if the Trinamool has done well in the metro and South Bengal, it has failed to make big inroads in North Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee couldn’t establish the Trinamool’s full sway in the Congress stronghold in North Bengal. Though the Trinamool won the municipalities in Malda, it failed to dislodge the Congress or capture any municipality in the green belt of Murshidabad and North Dinajpur.

In Malda, where two of the strongest district Congress leaders – Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury and Sabitri Mitra – had crossed over to the Trinamool and helped Mamata to strengthen the party’s organization, the result is overwhelming.

The Trinamool-held English Bazar and Old Malda municipalities went to the polls in Malda on the issue of development work done by the civic bodies in the last five years in the district. Trinamool retained both the municipalities. Trinamool won 15 out of the 29 seats in English Bazar and 10 out of the 19 seats in Old Malda municipalities.

Two MPs AH Khan Chowdhury and Mausam Benazir Noor led the Congress campaign in Malda and State Horticulture Minister Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury and Minister without portfolio Sabitri Mitra guided the Trinamool surge. “People voted for the development works undertaken by the Trinamool boards in the last five years here,” said Chairman of English Bazar Municipality Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury.

In Uttar Dinajpur, Congress retained both the municipalities – Kaliaganj and Islampur. In these two municipalities, the Congress wiped out the Trinamool, CPI(M) and the BJP. In Kaliaganj, the Congress won 13 out of the 17 seats and in Islampur the Congress has won 12 out of the 17 seats. In both the municipalities, the Congress would form the board. Here former MP Deepa Dasmunshi led the Congress campaign.

In Murshidabad, six municipalities – Dhulian, Jangipur, Jiaganj-Azimganj, Murshidbad, Kandi and Beldanga – went to the polls. Congress has won Dhulian, Murshidabad, Kandi and Beldanga comfortably. The CPI(M) will form the board in Jangipur and Jiaganj-Azimganj.

Except in Dhulian, where the Trinamool won six seats, in rest of the municipalities, its performance is abysmal.

For Mamata, this is a blow because for the last five years she has been trying to penetrate in this district, which is the turf of the Congress State president and MP Adhir Chowdhury. Mamata had appointed former Trinamool general secretary and party MP Mukul Roy to build up an organisation here. But the Trinamool effort has proved to be a cipher.

In 2000 municipal polls, Adhir Chowdhury had won the same four municipalities for the Congress in Murshidabad. Out of these six municipalities, the battle for Murshidabad municipality was most prestigious because it is the home turf of Adhir Chowdhury.

“People trust me. People vote for me because of the pro-people projects that I have undertaken in this municipality. I have nothing to prove to the voters of my area,” said Adhir Chowdhury. Congress has won in 47 out of the 107 municipality seats that had gobe to the polls in this district.

Talking about Trinamool’s victory in 71 out of the 91 municipalities in Bengal, Adhir Chowdhury said it is no surprise that Trinamool has emerged victorious. “But it seems that the Trinamool was not confident of victory or else they couldn’t have resorted to such violence and anti-democratic practices. Ethically, it is wrong,” alleged Adhir Chowdhury.

Coming to South Bengal, Hooghly because of Singur, East Midnapore because of Nandigram and the Junglemahal belt of Bankura, Purulia and West Midanpore were considered to be Mamata’s Achilles Heel. But the development activities done by the State Government in this belt and the adjoining districts filled the ballot boxes.

Distribution of subsidized rice, atta, 100 days employment under the NREGS Scheme, construction of roads, digging of ponds, supplying drinking water through submersible pumps, building culverts and bridges, free education for girl children of backward areas, renovating schools and colleges and giving employment are some programmes that helped Mamata to win the confidence of the people.

With the Singur land problem still unresolved and the chit-fund scam hitting the industrial belts in the periphery of the city, both the CPI(M) and the Congress believed Mamata will take a beating in Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas and Howrah and Birbhum districts. But people voted for her party. One of the principal poll campaigners of the Trinamool, Subhendu Adhikari claimed people have openly rejected the CPI(M), BJP and the Congress.

If for Mamata, panchayat polls was a do or die battle to establish control in the rural areas that elect 234 out of the 294 legislators in the State Assembly and majority of the 42 MPs of Bengal, her victory in the municipal polls established her sway on the city and moffusil towns.

Mamata’s politics of development is the winner. PCC chief Adhir Chowdhury and CPI(M) State secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra alleged that violence and rigging by Trinamool marred the polls, but the Mamata brigade claims it is the pro-people policies of the government that helped them secure a large mandate in the polls.

Mamata said it was a victory of, people, development and democracy. “If 80 per cent people cast their vote in our favour, how can you say terror determined the victory? Our development work has paid rich dividends. And the bottom line is Mamata is still the biggest vote-catcher,” claimed State Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee.