01-04-2008, 01:30 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Mamata's folly </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
If only she had aligned with the BJP...
The result of the Balagarh Assembly constituency byelection in West Bengal clearly shows that the CPI(M) has paid a steep price for its gross abuse of power and the violence unleashed by its cadre in the villages of Nandigram. <b>In 2006, the Marxists had won this seat by 17,500 votes; this time, the margin has been reduced to 8,410 votes. But a heavier price has been paid by Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee for stubbornly treading a path that will not lead her to electoral victory: Her party would have won the byelection had she not cussedly refused an alliance with the BJP. For, the combined voteshare of the Trinamool Congress candidate and that of the BJP, who has bagged 8,833 votes, is much more than that of the CPI(M)'s nominee</b>. Even a political novice knows that the Opposition cannot win in West Bengal unless it contests from a common platform; Ms Banerjee is no novice in politics. Her party has been repeatedly trumped by the Marxists in the absence of a united Opposition front, but she has failed to forge a rainbow coalition. She has the option of aligning with the Congress, for which she would have to snap all relations with the NDA. Since she has virtually broken free of the NDA and has no relations with the BJP, there is no reason why she can't go along with the Congress. Unless, of course, she believes that the Congress in West Bengal will never put up a genuine fight against the CPI(M); this perception is not without merit. This leaves her with no other option but to join hands with the BJP and replicate the NDA model by roping in smaller parties. But she refuses to do this either. The 'grand coalition' forged by her along with non-descript organisations -- ranging from the IUML at one end of the spectrum to Maoist factions at the other end -- that do not matter in the State's politics is at best a laughable exercise adding up to nothing.
The so-called 18-party 'Progressive Democratic Secular Front' launched by her on New Year's eve is an apology of a political alliance; its members will no doubt cheer her, but they cannot fetch her votes. Ms Banerjee should know this better than anybody else, yet she is unwilling to adopt a more pragmatic strategy. Two points need to be made in this context. The first pertains to <b>Ms Banerjee chasing the elusive 'Muslim vote' by exerting to be more 'secular' than the 'secularists', namely the Marxists, who are her political rivals. This is a wasted effort. Muslims in West Bengal have consistently voted for either the CPI(M) or the Congress</b>; this voting pattern is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. <b>Just because Ms Banerjee has some clerics rooting for her does not mean Muslims will en masse vote for the Trinamool Congress. Nor will Ms Banerjee's silence on Muslim communalism, for instance as manifested during the November 21 riots in central Kolkata, convince the community to switch allegiance.</b> The second point is to do with Ms Banerjee's presumption that despite her spurning the BJP in West Bengal, the NDA will keep its doors open for her in New Delhi. In politics there are no certitudes. Instead of experimenting with amateur politics, Ms Banerjee would do well to get real. It would be a pity if she were to continue to squander her tremendous potential by pursuing a disastrous policy of keeping her natural allies at bay while embracing those who care for neither West Bengal nor her.
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Fool is written all over Mamta's forhead, she should spend time cooking Machi, some good recipe may come out, other wise she will be tossed from one place to other.
The Pioneer Edit Desk
If only she had aligned with the BJP...
The result of the Balagarh Assembly constituency byelection in West Bengal clearly shows that the CPI(M) has paid a steep price for its gross abuse of power and the violence unleashed by its cadre in the villages of Nandigram. <b>In 2006, the Marxists had won this seat by 17,500 votes; this time, the margin has been reduced to 8,410 votes. But a heavier price has been paid by Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee for stubbornly treading a path that will not lead her to electoral victory: Her party would have won the byelection had she not cussedly refused an alliance with the BJP. For, the combined voteshare of the Trinamool Congress candidate and that of the BJP, who has bagged 8,833 votes, is much more than that of the CPI(M)'s nominee</b>. Even a political novice knows that the Opposition cannot win in West Bengal unless it contests from a common platform; Ms Banerjee is no novice in politics. Her party has been repeatedly trumped by the Marxists in the absence of a united Opposition front, but she has failed to forge a rainbow coalition. She has the option of aligning with the Congress, for which she would have to snap all relations with the NDA. Since she has virtually broken free of the NDA and has no relations with the BJP, there is no reason why she can't go along with the Congress. Unless, of course, she believes that the Congress in West Bengal will never put up a genuine fight against the CPI(M); this perception is not without merit. This leaves her with no other option but to join hands with the BJP and replicate the NDA model by roping in smaller parties. But she refuses to do this either. The 'grand coalition' forged by her along with non-descript organisations -- ranging from the IUML at one end of the spectrum to Maoist factions at the other end -- that do not matter in the State's politics is at best a laughable exercise adding up to nothing.
The so-called 18-party 'Progressive Democratic Secular Front' launched by her on New Year's eve is an apology of a political alliance; its members will no doubt cheer her, but they cannot fetch her votes. Ms Banerjee should know this better than anybody else, yet she is unwilling to adopt a more pragmatic strategy. Two points need to be made in this context. The first pertains to <b>Ms Banerjee chasing the elusive 'Muslim vote' by exerting to be more 'secular' than the 'secularists', namely the Marxists, who are her political rivals. This is a wasted effort. Muslims in West Bengal have consistently voted for either the CPI(M) or the Congress</b>; this voting pattern is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. <b>Just because Ms Banerjee has some clerics rooting for her does not mean Muslims will en masse vote for the Trinamool Congress. Nor will Ms Banerjee's silence on Muslim communalism, for instance as manifested during the November 21 riots in central Kolkata, convince the community to switch allegiance.</b> The second point is to do with Ms Banerjee's presumption that despite her spurning the BJP in West Bengal, the NDA will keep its doors open for her in New Delhi. In politics there are no certitudes. Instead of experimenting with amateur politics, Ms Banerjee would do well to get real. It would be a pity if she were to continue to squander her tremendous potential by pursuing a disastrous policy of keeping her natural allies at bay while embracing those who care for neither West Bengal nor her.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Fool is written all over Mamta's forhead, she should spend time cooking Machi, some good recipe may come out, other wise she will be tossed from one place to other.