This does not augur well for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the new high priestess of opposition politics, who is straining every muscle to achieve a full spectrum anti-BJP opposition unity. Cong(I) president Sonia Gandhi may have accorded her a prominent place in the recent Delhi meeting of opposition leaders, (ignoring the state unit of her own party), but Mamata’s efforts to win over her former enemies will not succeed easily in her own backyard.

Ironically, in the context of Bengal, both the Congress and the CPI(M) cadres are embroiled in a two-front battle, their adversaries being: their own party headquarters and the BJP Government, in that order. This is quite apart from opposing the TMC in the natural course. For both parties opposing the BJP for its ‘communal politics’ comes easy.

However, in Bengal there is a twist even in this: The Congress and CPIM) are both livid over what they allege to be the glacial pace of CBI and ED-sponsored investigations into the financial corruption of scores of TMC MPs, MLAs and ministers. There are indications that even the Chief Minister and her nephew, her political heir apparent, may face charges of corruption shortly.

However, Abdul Mannan and Adhir Choudhury of the Congress and Dr Suryakanta Mishra and Mohammad Salim of the CPIM) are all convinced that BJP is going deliberately slow against TMC because there is a ‘hidden understanding’ between the two parties! It is an irony that between Mannan and Chowdhury, this remains their sole area of convergence --- they are not the best of friends otherwise!

There are angry rumblings within the Bengal CPIM), especially after Sitaram Yechuri was denied nomination for a third Rajya Sabha term due to party rules. Some members argue that the time ‘to think of different alternatives’ has come, in a desperate political situation. Old timers recall that the present condition is reminiscent of the tension-packed weeks preceding the first split within the undivided CPI in 1964.

As for the across-the-board opposition unity initiative, unlike the CPI(M)’s Kerala unit, there are hardly any takers for the idea in Bengal, because this would entail close interaction and coordination with the Banerjee-led TMC, the CPIM)’ s bête noire all these years! ‘Why, our cadres would rebel and quit the party outright,’ fears one State Committee member.

Senior party leaders allege that during the TMC rule from 2011 onwards, over 300 workers have been killed, scores of party offices burnt or destroyed and over 2,000 workers have either been arrested or are wanted by police in connection with ‘fabricated cases’. The Bengal unit is currently dependant on other state units by way of donations etc, even to keep functioning on a much reduced scale, with no signs of an early recovery. ‘This is not something that our comrades in Kerala or Haryana are facing,’ says a Youth Front leader.

Significantly, at the recent Delhi opposition meeting held at Congress initiative, Yechuri made a proposal that other parties should join left agitations on working class issues and departed swiftly, long before Mamata could spell out her thoughts. It is another matter that the NCP and the BJD parties were also absent.

So much for ‘relations’ between the CPIM) and the TMC. Unless it is prepared to risk a split, the CPIM) as of now cannot come together with the TMC even on an anti-BJP plank. As for the Congress, the position is not very different. Within the state assembly, Mannan, to the surprise of all, aligned himself on one or two issues with the TMC, but that was about all. It did not prevent joint walk-outs with the CPI(M) and other protests against the ruling TMC in the house. Interestingly, the only time the Speaker agreed to meet Congress members for a discussion, the latter called for an immediate withdrawal of ‘fabricated cases’ filed by a partisan state administration!

“In addition to the arrests and the bogus cases, the TMC has weaned away scores of Congress MLAs and councilors in the assembly and the civic bodies, taking over entire district units, with the lure of money or posts. They wanted to destroy our party. For our leaders to think of joining hands with the TMC now --- I don’t think that will be acceptable here. Our people would either retire or join other parties,” says an INTUC leader.

It remains to be seen how the TMC measures up to its self-assigned task of winning over its implacable political opponents in Bengal, in full spectrum opposition to the BJP. Given its record of decimating its opponents even in the few remaining pockets of their strength and using administrative powers ruthlessly to harass and hound Congress and Left workers, any sudden charm offensive may make people only more suspicious of the TMC’s intentions.

And if the TMC fails in uniting the anti-BJP forces in Bengal, Mamata’s dominance as a major opposition leader at the national level would stand diminished greatly. (IPA Service)