The last few days have not been pleasant for the feisty Union Railway Minister. The euphoria over the civic election results is wearing off. Meanwhile, she is learning the necessity of separating the wheat from the chaff the hard way.

There have been two major embarrassments for her. First, politically ambitious painter Subhaprasanna, has botched up the private TV channel she had been planning to set up. It seems the man has gone around to people asking for funds, using her name. One of the people he approached is the Union Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee. Somewhat surprised, Mukherjee told Ms Banerjee that she could have spoken to him directly. Other people also got in touch with the Minister.

An upset Ms Banerjee lost no time in informing her close associates that the channel was off, for now. She also began distancing herself from the painter, an albatross round her neck if there was ever one.

For the record, Shubaprasanna's social record is not exactly spotlessly clean. There are complaints about how he allegedly wangled a plot for setting up an institution devoted to the development of the visual arts. There is the matter of an income tax penalty against him for making inaccurate declarations about his annual earnings. Then, there is a complaint from a person who committed suicide, who had named and blamed him in his dying declaration — on the whole, the image that emerges is not exactly edifying.

However strongly Ms Banerjee might protest her innocence about the channel or its future, the facts are against her. The channel is going ahead as scheduled, says Subhaprasanna and well he may. The license for the project is in his name. It is another matter that a prominent newscaster and commentator reused his invitation to join the channel point blank. The painter than recruited two virtual non entities to run the show. However, following Ms Banerjee's ire, both have left.

The second instance is remarkably similar to the first, again resulting in a major embarrassment for Ms Banerjee because of the misplaced zeal of those considered closest to her. The Bengali daily owned by a Trinamool Congress MP carried an advertisement recently for a private sandal making company highlighting their product, using her image.

All hell broke loose, the opposition cried foul and against Ms Banerjee did what she is doing increasingly these days—she distanced herself from the controversy. Just as she “distanced herself “ by not attending the Ministerial meeting where the decision to hike petrol and diesel prices etc were finalised. Here is one Minister who will make more history for not doing things rather than the reverse, it seems!

Somehow, the railways Ministry was brought into the strange case of the sandal advertisement. Authorities issued a statement declaring that the Minister had nothing to do with the matter, she had not been consulted and that the people running the ad, the manufacturer and the ad agency, were being questioned.

The agency clarified that it had only arranged publication of whatever matter it was given. The inside story was, an overzealous journalist known to be very close to Ms Banerjee had in his misplaced zeal masterminded the matter. Net result: a very red face for the Minister, not for the first time either.

Surely it is time the Minister, now handling the crucial railway Ministry and about to become the next Chief Minister of West Bengal, became a little more selective about picking her favourites? Without decrying their efforts to promote her interests, it seems they are more keen on fulfilling their own personal agenda at her expense.

How politically damaging all this will be? Amazingly, the answer is, hardly damaging at all. For her opponents, read the CPI(M) and its allies, are in much worse disarray than the Trinamool Congress. Look at the record: the Trinamool-led opposition have won 62 out of 81 civic bodies, reducing the mighty Left from 57 to 19!

The message is ominously clear for the CPI(M), even if Ms Banerjee commits hara-kiri, it will not translate into positive votes for the Left. The people want the Left to go. Why?

An answer of sorts was available in a recent observation made by the Chief whip of the LF in the state Assembly, who noted that “We are in government, but we do not necessarily hold the power.” A cry of despair, if there was ever one. Post 2011 state assembly elections, both Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Left Front chairman Biman Bose will have to do a lot of explaining, if they happen to retains their jobs. (IPA)