India rids itself of the Reds influence, but can Mamata deliver?

Afsan Chowdhury
Published : 13 May 2011, 06:32 PM
Updated : 13 May 2011, 06:32 PM

The Reds are out and the Green is in, in West Bengal. The Communist Party of India (M) — bastion for nearly 40 years have gone with a whimper. What began with Jyoti Basu, has finally ended with Buddhadeb Bhattachajee who has conceded defeat to Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress — a thorn in the flesh of the Marxist dadas for long. It is not a historic victory for Mamata, a person hardly known for her governing skills and/or any other skills barring demagoguery, but a historic defeat for CPI(M) whose loss will now usher the final end of Marxist politics in India.

Mamata rode an anti-CPM surge and it will also be good news for the Congress Party which was in trouble over corruption allegations of its partners in several Indian states. Mamata is a Congress ally and sits in the central cabinet as a minister strengthening Congress hands in a state where it barely existed since losing power in 1977.

Apart from the fact that a set of fresh faces are coming in overwhelming number, this election also has implications for India's national politics. It ends the Red era. Till very recently, the CPM had been a factor in electoral power combines. Though not sharing power, it had managed to put other parties including Congress through with its seat shares in the centre. But now with West Bengal and Kerala lost and only tiny Tripura remaining, people will consider them as a lesser ally, more for what they say rather than what they represent.

CPI, the pro-Russian faction is already dead and gone and it is the pro-Chinese faction of CPM that had held on particularly in Bengal. Although it had once come close to central power and Jyoti Basu of West Bengal was about to take over in the centre, CPM politburo turned the opportunity down to and ended whatever chances it had of a continued meaningful presence in Indian politics. It even sacked Somnath Chaterjee of West Bengal when he became the Speaker of the National Assembly for becoming so and violating party discipline.

It speaks of a mindset that has died elsewhere long ago and certainly doesn't suit any versions of the modern world.

CPM didn't win support because of its ideology which is not understood by most including its party leadership, but because of frustration with Congress leadership in the '70s particularly after the emergency era of Indira Gandhi which harassed and arrested at will. However, once it came to power, it initiated land reforms and won support of the poor in particular and controlled the primary produce market well. People also expected better things from them and so the support base widened to include the middle-class. That was the mainstay of its power for long.

Like all Communist regimes everywhere, it is great when the initial euphoria lasts but once that sweeps away, repression sets in and the CPM in Bengal will also be remembered for what it called ''constituency management" euphemism for strong arm tactics and often, plain thuggery. CPM thugs have also emerged over time as they do in any long lasting regime and because the CPM didn't bother to rein them in, the political price has finally been paid.

But why did it take so long for them to go? CPM under the present PM had initially been popular after coming to power by promising economic reforms and the middle-class which had by then run away from it did trust them. However, the promises never materialised and its attempts to attract investments failed miserably. One of the reasons was the long neglect of the infrastructure which prevents any industrial growth. Unlike other parts of North India where capitalist development and modernity were embraced enthusiastically, Bengalis – babus and dadas – clung to an imagined paradise that would somehow be delivered, they have always argued. When it tried to play catch up by delivering industrial lands to the entrepreneurs, it met with popular resistance such as in Singaur.

CPM's reaction was classical Stalinism and it went on a warpath with its own supporters which brought disgrace at a level few CPs have ever earned. By trying to dispossess peasants from their land without their consent, they became enemies of just about everyone. They were desperate and it showed but it didn't work. Their demise was a matter of time and it has happened.

CPM managed to survive in West Bengal because it was functioning within the broader framework of Indian democracy. It won elections and was in power but once people rejected them, they got kicked out. Unlike the socialist countries, there was a political choice and this choice was exercised. CPM's success was because of India's democratic opportunities and so is its departure now.

The impact has all Indian and local level implications. For India, it is great news. The influence of Marxists will rapidly fade now and this can lead to greater maturity in its national behaviour. However, India will have to produce a much better brand of politics than it has now with its alliance based governance arrangement that doesn't prevent it from political horse trading and corruption, things that India seems to have made its own favourite activities.

For West Bengal, it is far more serious because Mamata has to prove that she can deliver in response to the high expectations people have now of her. Although it is a rejection of CPM vote, she will soon have to show she can run a government well.

And in this, she has a bigger role to play which has implications for all Bengalis. If Mamata does well, it will mean that misrule can be a political matter and one of competence. If she fails, it might mean Bengalis as a people are not capable of governing, wherever they may live.

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Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist and researcher.