Its most intriguing indication is the proposed nomination to former IAS and Chief Secretary Mr. Manish Gupta, to contest against chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Jadavpur. Traditionally a secure left seat, with its population mostly comprising former refugees from East Bengal, Jadavpur has seen some civic as well as economic development in recent years. The new generation of voters, as everywhere, is impatient for development and students of the famous University in the area are by no means all Left supporters any more. In 1984, sections of local people helped Ms Mamata Banerjee defeat the redoubtable Mr, Somnath Chatterjee of the CPI(M) in a David vs Goliath contest.

As a candidate, Mr. Gupta who confirmed his intention to fight on a TMC ticket from anywhere the party wanted, is formidable. He had served with distinction in the army, having seen action during the Indo-Pak war in 1965. In the administration, he was known for his forthright, no-nonsense approach. He had no problems with Mr Jyoti Basu as Chief Minister, even in a highly politicised administration, but after Bhattacharjee’s takeover, things changed.

The two did not really get along and after his retirement, Gupta for all his reputed brilliance, was unable to secure a berth elsewhere in the administration, as was being done for most senior officers known for their “good relations” with the Left. This did not bother Gupta in the least as he remained active on several fronts as a consultant for several private sector agencies.

The TMC is also about to field the FICCI General Secretary, noted economist Amit Mitra as a strong and plausible counter weight to the present Finance Minister Ashim Das Gupta of the CPI(M). Mr. Mitra’s credentials too cannot be ignored lightly. The alumni of Presidency College was something of a rightwing political activist, bucking the comfortable trend of pro-Left politics in his time.

As for Dasgupta, the going should not be easy for him. During his long undisturbed tenure as Finance Minister, he has not earned a reputation for either transparency or performance. He leaves the state staggering under a Rs 190,000 crore debt to the centre and a sharply shrinking revenue base, a his sole “achievement” over the years. Gimmicks like presenting no-deficit budgets year after year and giving a slogan of “an alternate economy” had virtually no results on the ground!

Worse, under him, official statistics lost all credibility, as the state hurtled towards an economic disaster. A few weeks ago, Union Finance Ministry officials openly challenged the state government regarding figures it had sent for tax collection and revenue generation measures! Then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee pulled up West Bengal for repeatedly resorting to overdrafts to keep afloat, along with Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

The contest between him and Mitra should prove interesting, as latter would certainly match the former in statistical claims, articulation and a grasp of economic issues.

At this writing, popular dramatist, director and actor Bratya Basu is being tipped to contest from Dum Dum. Basu has proved very effective in appearing as a TMC apologist from the ranks of intellectuals, giving seasoned political leaders a run for their money in the cut and thrust of angry debate.

Indeed, the support to the opposition given by people like him and his colleagues like Kaushik Sen, painter Shubhaprasanna, dramatist Shaonli Mitra, writer Mahasweta Devi and others, has certainly made things difficult for the Left. In addition seasoned bureaucrats like Debabrata Bandpadhyay, economists Sugata Marjit and Abhirup Sarkar, educationist Sunanda Sanyal, have also hit out at the left, although Sarkar has refused to content elections.

Ms Banerjee, for all her apparently rough and tumble ways in politics, has carefully nurtured her new found acceptance and space among the intellectuals and the better minds of Bengal society. She is known to seek their suggestions and even stand by their advice, something she was reluctant to do before.

In fact the TMC election manifesto is being drafted by two economists and should, according to insiders, carry a new direction for the economically stagnant state.

In contrast, the developments within the left front, scheduled to release its list of candidates shortly, has not been markedly positive. The LF brought only ridicule upon itself as senior CPI(M) leaders invited the controversial Majid Master, a controversial leader from south Bengal, to the party headquarters in Kolkata for a discussion. Now this man stands accused in a murder case involving a TMC activist and there is a non bailable search warrant out for him. The wonder is that he was not arrested either by the police picket posted outside the party headquarters, or by the security personnel who guard the Chief Minister! Naturally, the incident has exposed the brazenness and inefficiency of the Front further. (IPA Service)