There is good reason why observers keep their fingers crossed about the tenure of India’s most unpredictable Chief Minister. She has been a Union Minister of Sports, Youth Welfare and Railways on three different occasions. Twice she has been part of a Congress Ministry and once of the BJP-led NDA. And she never completed her term as a Minister.

Her short stint as a Minister for Youth Welfare under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao was a relatively quiet affair by her stormy standards. She did not complete her innings,, resigning long before the five year term ended, returning to the rough and tumble of state politics.

Even as the Union Railway Minister, she did not stay the course. Majority opinion on her performance is that, if it was nondescript under the BJP, it has been disastrous during her short tenure as a Minister in the second UPA Ministry.

Now she has fulfilled her political ambition by becoming the Chief Minister, dislodging the world’s most deeply entrenched Communist-led coalition from West Bengal, winning a massive popular mandate. This miraculous achievement alone will ensure her a permanent place in history, if nothing else will.

Strictly going by the evidence of the past 100 days of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) rule, it is certainly possible to wonder whether her best is already over.

Ms Banerjee has always had a disdain for half measures and compromises in politics, which is rather unusual for present times. On the other hand, a certain go-for-broke extremism has always been the hallmark of her predominantly confrontationist approach.

Given this penchant for stridency and high drama, it remains to be seen how long she can rein in her natural combative instincts, honed to perfection during her days in the opposition. Learning to adopt a more balanced, rational approach as the state’s elected Chief Executive, may be as comfortable for her as a learning Mandarin is for a normal 56 year old woman.

So far the signs are mixed. On the one hand, there are some positives. She has adopted a hands-on approach with the departments under her control, eight of the most important portfolios, including Home and Health. Her surprise visits have helped improve punctuality and attendance in government offices.

Politically, she has begun consulting the main opposition parties on major issues, inviting them to all party meetings. It attests to the credit of the opposition, mainly the CPI(M), that they have not stayed away from these meetings, unlike the TMC in the past. Cultivating intellectuals, literary figures and celebrities the left front had ignored, she now has a formidable support base among opinion makers, which earlier was a left monopoly. Her anti-industry stand on the question of land acquisition has won her new areas of support in the state among cultivators, who earlier supported the left. Her minority appeasement, carried to apparently insane lengths in the matter of her personal dressing style earns her the support of the minorities. So does her decision not to have anything to do with the BJP which once backed her fully, even keeping them out of all party meetings.

On the other hand, the negative factors seen so far are equally formidable. She has practically rendered the state assembly irrelevant, by not presenting a full budget and killing off debates on the performance of most important departments. Her argument that she is not yet an elected Chief Minister does not sound convincing, as this has not come in the way of her raising the national flag on official occasions or in any other work. This has never happened in post-Independence West Bengal. For all her promises assuring a fair administration, attacks on CPI(M) cadres by TMC supporters have continued, resulting in 30 deaths, with little police action taken. Worse, over 50,00,000 people have been hit by serious floods in 13 districts, 50 people have died. Ms Banerjee does not think the situation is serious enough to plead for central assistance.

Her announcement that people should observe the Roza regardless of their religion has not gone down too well. Industrialists have not announced major investments, although three months have passed, and several meetings have been held. The presence of Mr, Amit Mitra official of the FICCI, as Finance Minister has made little difference to the investment scenario. The case against the Tatas over the government takeover of the land at Singur, where the company had put up its small car plant is not proving easy.

In short, there is no sign yet that her pre-poll claims of providing lakhs of new jobs and the creation of infra structure are likely to be fulfilled in the near future. The lady is desperate for results and has made some startling announcements.

“I have already arranged for 100,000 new government jobs,” is only one of them. This includes the proposal for the creation of jobs for nearly 50,000 teachers, 10,000 policemen in the tribal areas and so on.” Given the state’s poor finances, where is the money to pay for these jobs? And for the administration, these jobs can be ready only after 2/3 years, not before, with so many formalities to complete,” says a senior official.

Revenue generation is another area of concern, as Ms Banerjee is loath to impose taxes of any sort. This makes Mr. Mitra’s jobs extremely difficult as a Finance Minister.

On the whole not a very promising prospect for the state emerges, after 100 days of the TMC rule. Old problems remain and are no nearer solution than before. Ms Banerjee’s populism makes the formulation of any kind of policy extremely difficult. What is still going for her and her party is that the people as a whole are not yet despondent. The CPI(M) is a house in total disarray, with no signs of recovering its lost relevance anytime soon. That has given the Trinamool Chief Minister much leeway at least for the present. (IPA Service)