Kolkata has two huge British-built heritage buildings with red bricks. One is the Writers' and the other is KMC. Last week, TMC took occupancy of KMC. Yet, Mamata's KMC won't be run by her elected party councilors alone. She has introduced a new concept in the country's civic administration by appointing an advisory council as large as her party's strength in KMC, comprising prominent personalities from all walks of life and mostly drawn from outside. Presidents of Kolkata's all the seven chambers of commerce will sit in the powerful advisory council to advise the KMC's executive management on how best it could serve its citizens as well as trade and commerce.

Industry was fast to switch sides in favour of TMC since the last Lok Sabha election. For industry, switching sides come easy and automatic. The factors determining the move are business convenience and strategic compulsion demanding the nearness to power for trouble-free survival. If Tatas and Ambanis are at ease with Gujarat's Narendra Modi, Delhi's Sonia-Manmohan combine, Karnataka's Yedyurappa or Tamil Nadu's Karunanidhi, there is no reason why the home-grown Birlas, Goenkas, Khaitans, Bangurs, Neotias, Lodhas, Bajorias, Kanorias and Aggarwals should keep company with losing CPM, with which they hobnobbed for over three decades to stage off any invasion of the state's manufacturing and construction sectors by 'outsiders' to protect their business territories?

Industry has no permanent political affiliation or affliction. Its permanent interest is only in business. Mamata too was quick to grab the opportunity to restore her industry-friendly image, especially after forcing the closure of Tatas' small car project at Singur, last year. If she returns to power, she will need the support of industry as much as industry needs her support to carry on.

Interestingly, the West Bengal municipal election verdict has also had a sobering effect on both Mamata's TMC and the state Congress leadership. Both recognise the need for a political alignment on the basis of mutual respect and accommodation if the Left Front is to be defeated out of power in the forthcoming assembly election. Although TMC swept the KMC election and for the first time took control of the Salt Lake municipality, it did not fare that well in majority of other municipalities because of its triangular fight against both Left and Congress candidates. In 28 out of the state's 81municipalities, TMC will require Congress support to take charge. On the other hand, Congress (INC) alone controls seven municipalities and will require TMC support to take charge of another six municipalities. In a way, it was good that TMC and INC, the two allies in the UPA government at the national level, decided to contest the election independently, following disagreement on seat sharing, to assess their respective support base, strength and weakness among electorates prior to the assembly election. The municipal election mandate has made it very clear that the two parties have no choice but to eschew differences to form a unified front to unseat the Left in the coming assembly election.

The West Bengal municipal election results may have pictured the political mood of the people of the state in general, but it would be a bit early to count these results as a mandate for the assembly election. The 81 municipalities represent only 17 per cent of the registered voters in the entire state. The Left Front still has a reasonably good presence in rural Bengal, where majority of Panchayats are Left-ruled. Only a united TMC-INC front can pose any real threat to the Left in rural areas. Mamata's advisory council, including business and industry representatives, favours an alliance with the Congress to ward off the last Left challenge.

A Mamata victory in the assembly election is very vital to the state's business community, who are already being troubled by CPM's trade union wing, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in industrial belts such as Haldia where the Left were trounced in last year's Lok Sabha election. A hung assembly is bound to disturb the industrial peace in the state, which is witnessing a big housing, infrastructure, information technology, retail and banking boom after a gap of several decades. A great expectation is being built around the possibility that Mamata may bring to the life of this state. (IPA Service)