The mobilization of these non-Left Front groups dates back to the Singur and Nandigram agitations. Now, the Lalgarh rally has confirmed that this amorphous political formation is still in place. For the ruling comrades, this unity is a worrying sign because even in the 2006 elections, the difference between the Left Front and the non-Left parties was only one per cent. This was several years before the Singur and Nandigram issues came to the fore. Now, the difference in the vote share may vanish, thereby tilting the political scales against the ruling alliance.

The second message is that Mamata is not apologetic about her Maoist links. Not only that, the fact that she was able to persuade Swami Agnivesh, Medha Patkar and other members of the intelligentsia to attend the rally showed that her stand has a large measure of support from the Left-leaning intellectuals, who have lost faith in the CPI(M). By condemning the killing of the Maoist leader, Azad, apparently in a fake encounter, she took a position which is at variance with the one pursued by the Home Minister, P.Chidambaram.

Much depends, however, on whether she is able to achieve any kind of a breakthrough by opening channels of communication with the Maoists via Swami Agnivesh and others. She is bound to gain if there is a positive response from the Maoists to her appeal to abjure violence. As it is, there has been a decline in such violence in recent weeks although it is not clear whether this is due to the continuing police operations resulting in a weakening of the Maoists or a rethinking of their tactics. At the same time, she is obviously playing for high stakes, for she will suffer a huge setback if the Maoists ignore her and carry out a major attack.

For the moment, however, the Trinamool Congress leader has occupied the high ground by demonstrating that she can hold a rally in Lalgarh which has long been out of bounds for the ruling parties in West Bengal. It can be recalled that the latter had committed as big a blunder in Lalgarh as in Singur and Nandigram. The police action in the area following the an attack by the Maoists on the convoy of the Chief Minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, and Union Ministers Ramvilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada in November, 2008, was so brutal that it enabled the Maoists to drive out the police from the area, lock up the police station, and keep the government and the ruling parties out of the area for several months.

Lalgarh had shown, like Singur and Nandigram, how the CPI(M)'s high-handedness could alienate the locals and enable its opponents to gain ground. That Monday's rally was based on this theme was evident from the fact that it was organized by the newly-formed Santras Birodhi Manch or Anti-Atrocities Forum. If Mamata refrained from associating her party directly with the meeting, it was evidently to give it a non-partisan colour, which would enable the Maoists to endorse it via their front organization, the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA).

The CPI(M)'s frustration over these developments is due to its inability to persuade the centre to rein in Mamata where her Maoist links are concerned. Although the Congress stayed away from Lalgarh, it is unlikely to interfere with Mamata's highly personalized agenda. For one, the party is not strong enough to bend Mamata to its will. As the recent municipal elections have shown, she is seemingly riding a popular wave at present. For another, there are differences within the Congress about the anti-Maoist line with a section, which includes party general secretary Digvijay Singh, echoing Mamata's conciliatory attitude.

Mamata has also played her cards well by letting the centre to know that even if she treats the West Bengal Congress with scant respect, she will not withdraw support from the Manmohan Singh government. At a time when the latter is buffeted by inflation, the Commonwealth Games fiasco, the Kashmir imbroglio and so on, it will be glad to have Mamata's consistent support. In addition, the Congress is well aware that if it can maintain its ties with Mamata, their alliance has a fair chance of winning the assembly polls, thereby marking the party's return to power in West Bengal, even as a junior partner, after more than three decades. (IPA Service)