For a few weeks after the Lok Sabha polls and the debacle of the Bengal left, it seemed she had learnt her lesson. Neither she nor her party took a single wrong step. Instead the beleaguered Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and CPI(M) State Secretary Biman Bose, behaved like bad losers.

For some politicians, old habits die hard and old bad habits, never .Ms Banerjee is a spectacular example of this tribe. After having everything her way and the CPI(M) finding it hard to retain a toehold in its own turf, she has committed a series of blunders. Once more people are left wondering about her political sanity.

The slide started from the Siliguri civic elections, where, tired of the endless stonewalling of the TMC, the Congress formed the new board with help from the CPI(M).It was the first minor success for the CPI(M) after its Lok Sabha drubbing. It managed to drive a wedge between the TMC and the Congress and restored a measure of its own political relevance. Both Ms Banerjee and other big cheese in the TMC hierarchy ranted and raved about the “perfidy” of the Congress. For once no one listened.

Still hurting over Siliguri, Ms Banerjee's next faus pax was to provoke a slanging match with the crew of a local TV channel she regards as pro-CPI(M). Like others, the channel sent its representatives to secure footage of a reception where TMC bigwigs were meeting some ”intellectuals” at Salt Lake. Not content with insulting and manhandling a female crew and her colleagues, the Railway Minister declared to the world that “they” had appointed “supari killers” to eliminate her. She could not” recognize” the lady reporter, who some time ago had received a signed new year diary from her!

She had the TV team detained at the local thana for four hours. Union Minister Mukul Roy showered abuse even on the father of Chief Minister Bhattacharjee!

The next day, large sections of the media and intelligentsia reacted, questioning whether the TMC was introducing a “new political culture” in the state. Both Ms Banerjee and Mr, Roy remained unrepentant.

The third setback occurred on October 16, when TMC leader Partha Chatterjee, along with three MLAs went to the state Secretariat, demanding the” immediate arrest of Chief Minister Bhattacharjee” whom he called “the Chief Criminal of Bengal.” For some three hours, they sat outside the Ministerial chamber on chairs they asked the police to provide, drinking water served by the police, who even arranged a large fan for them. Bhattacharjee was not there, but when he returned, the police formed a cordon round him, preventing any physical clash. Bhattacharjee ordered their immediate removal, which the police duly carried out, arresting them briefly and releasing them.

For this “crime” of the administration, the entire city was held to ransom from 6.30 to 9 p.m., as TMC cadres organized road blocks over a dozen major crossings, throwing the busy office hour traffic out of kilter for hours! People fumed and fretted and cursed their luck over the wildcat disruption. Satisfied with their mayhem, TMC leaders blamed the government for what had happened.

What the opposition leaders failed to understand was the changed mood within the cornered CPI(M) rank and file. Ever since the Singur episode, where the sustained lawless agitation launched by the TMC had forced the Tatas to relocate their Nano car project to Gujarat, party cadres felt that Bhattacharjee had erred grievously in allowing the opposition a free run. The lack of administrative firmness had undermined the party's chances at the LS polls and demoralized its members, Bhattacharjee's supine inactivity was unfavourably contrasted with Jyoti Basu's firmness of many occasions both within the party and the media. Bhattacharjee also fell in the estimation of the common people.

The LS polls results were unexpected for the ruling left, but there was no doubting the anti-left political trend that had set in 32 years after the Left front was elected to power. It was not just the LS polls, the left lost too many seats in the Panchayat polls and most of the by-elections and civic elections as well.

The present thinking is clear : the CPI(M) is well aware of, even reconciled to the possibility that it could be defeated in the coming Assembly elections in 2011 — something that would have been unthinkable even in 2006. But win or lose, come what may, it would not yield any more space to the TMC or the opposition. It will put up a determined fight even if it went down.

Bhattacharjee has discussed the present situation with his mentor and predecessor, Basu who approved of the new thinking with the party. In concrete terms, this could lead to more trouble and political violence in West Bengal.

Recent violence between CPI(M) and TMC supporters and cadres have claimed several lives already. With both sides resorting to the use of arms more frequently, there could only be a further escalation, not reduction, in the level of violence, unless leaders of both groups come to an agreement. There is not the slightest sign that this will happen. Worse, neither Ms Banerjee nor CPI(M) leaders seem to have any restraining influence or authority to rein in their unruly hordes. (IPA Service)