Will the leftfront be able to maintain ascendancy in West Bengal?

In sharp contrast to the typical milieu of the Indian political landscape, West Bengal is ruled by such political forces which hardly enjoy a national image since these parties are restricted mainly in three of the 28 states and their citadel is clearly West Bengal for many years. Two other states where they have considerable influence are southern Kerala and tiny north-eastern Tripura which sends only two members to the Loksabha. But it is West Bengal which is the pride stronghold for the leftists who have not only succeeded in ruling the state for an uninterrupted nearly two and a half decades through several polls but also maintained its ascendancy in terms of federal elections. The ruling leftfront in the state -- a coalition of several leftist parties ranging from main partner CPM to much smaller Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) or Forward Bloc -- has maintained its hold by winning two thirds of the seats for the Loksabha for many years. This time it is facing two determined political forces the BJP-Trinamul Congress on one hand and the main Congress on the other. In the last polls, the Trinamul had seven seats, the BJP two and the Congress five and the rest captured by the leftfront.

The BJP which is the main partner of the NDA government in the country, has scant presence in this state but it made some inroads through an alliance with the Trinamul, which is a breakaway party from the main Congress and is in existence only in West Bengal. Can the leftists withstand the onslaught of two hostile forces in the state since both are sparing no efforts to diminish the "communist myth" here?

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West Bengal was basically a bastion for Congress when such notable leaders like Dr. BC Roy, SS Ray and Ajay Kumar Mukherjee had distinguished themselves as able chief ministers. Ajay Mukherjee, however, had formed the "Bangla Congress" parting away with the mainstream. But the emergence of the communists like the CPM and CPI with greater strength in the state changed the pattern of rule and there was no looking back for the leftists. In the federal parliament too the leftists had some well-known lawmakers like Inderjit Gupta and Bhupesh Gupta of CPI and Jyotirmoy Basu of the CPM, all of whom have passed away. Among the veterans there still are elderly Somnath Chatterjee, who is again contesting this time and the legendary Jyoti Basu, who was the chief minister for more than two decades, has voluntarily retired from office but not from politics as the nonagenarian leader is still active in campaigning for the front.

In the Congress side, veterans include ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury, who has been winning from Maldah every time, and Pranab Mukherjee -- both were senior ministers of India during Congress rule -- and also Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. In the Trinamul, apart from its mercurial leader Mamta Banerjee, former state minister for external affairs Ajit Panja and city mayor Subrata Mukherjee are in the fray. BJP has leaders like Tapan Sikdar, central state minister. Mamta's secular credential is coming under criticism from both Congress and leftfront for her alliance with the BJP.

The election scenario in West Bengal is somewhat different from rest of the Indian states as in most of the important states it is the BJP and Congress or the alliances led by them are fighting each other. In some states secular parties are supporting the Congress while the BJP, known for reflecting the views of Hindu nationalism, has support of both communal as well as some secular forces. In West Bengal, the fight is basically between the leftfront and the Trinamul supported by the BJP while the Congress is also a force to reckon with. Both Trinamul and the Congress are determined to increase their tally while the leftfront is keen to retain the strength. Certainly, it will be a great achievement if it can increase the number.

In the last Vidhan Sabha polls, the equations were different when Mamta Banerjee forged alliance with her old party, Congress, to topple the leftists from power in the state and most opinion polls predicted good showing by the Trinamul-Congress alliance but in reality it was the leftists which romped home quite easily. The honeymoon between Trinamul and Congress did not last much and now they are pitted against each other. But for both, the main opponent are the leftists who control most of the Loksabha seats from here. Congress has brought in some celebrities like former Miss India and social worker Nafisa Ali and film actress Moushumi Chatterjee to contest from two Kolkata city constituencies. Undeterred by this, Mamta Banerjee, known for her simple living, says introduction of such people will not help change the electoral fortune of the Congress.

Ironically, Mamta's partner in the NDA at the centre, the BJP, has drafted several film stars and singers like Dharmendra and Bhupen Hazarika to seek election from other states. The leftfront, which is otherwise close to Congress in national politics compared to the BJP since both believe in secularism, finds the Congress in West Bengal as a foe as much as it views the BJP and the Trinamul. Electioneering has reached a crescendo in West Bengal as all the three contenders are engaged in a feverish pitch to enhance their political strength in the state known for its intellectual and political farsightedness.

The Trinamul is strong in the urban areas, mainly Kolkata, where it counts on most of the seats. The Congress may pick up one or two from Kolkata and looks to its well-known leaders for success. The leftists depend on the rural areas where despite being in power in the state for many years and many failures notwithstanding, their image has not taken a bad beating, because of sincerity of purpose. Still they are fighting a tough battle to retain the ascendancy in their citadel and probably they can do it in the manner they did in the last state assembly polls. Smaller parties generally are not that important in national context but can hold the sway in the event of a hung parliament or when political situation is in a flux. Former chief minister Jyoti Basu, although not a player at national level as such despite his towering image, had once come close to becoming prime minister of India but he had to decline as his party did not approve of. West Bengal politics has its own charm and complexity in the Indian scene.

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury is a senior journalist.