Ironically, five years ago, when the TMC had emerged as the single largest party in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, it had promptly and vociferously called for an immediate dissolution of the state Assembly and fresh elections. The reason: the Left Front was dominant in the Assembly, but had lost in the 2009 polls wining only 15 seats to the TMC’s 19.

It does not need reminding that the Left Front did not heed the call for a fresh assembly election. It completed its scheduled tenure till 2011 instead. In the process it ignored the advice given by Dr Ashok Mitra to step down and face the electorate, to show respect for the 2009 verdict of the people. His argument: considering the growing unpopularity of the Left, such a gesture would partially redeem its political prospects. Left hardliners, some of whom view any acceptance of moral responsibility for a political setback as bourgeois sentimentalism, insisted that they continue to rule and 'turn things around' by 2011. That things turned much worse in 2011 as compared to 2009 for the Left is another story.

Question: This time the TMC has won as many as 34 seats out of 42, so why is it dragging its feet about holding the next round of civic polls due after July next? Why is it behaving exactly like the beleaguered Left Front, its bete noire, in 2014, under what pressure? Already, opposition parties in the State are calling for these elections to be held on schedule.

“To think that the TMC calls itself the party of paribartan (change) in West Bengal! Its present behaviour only strengthens the old saying, the more things change, the more they remain the same,' says an observer.

As things stand, civic elections would be due in Dum Dum, Rajarhat, South Dum Dum, Madhyamgram, Asansol, among other areas, after July. Some of these areas, such as Dum Dum and Rajarhat are virtually part of greater Kolkata. And the state Election Commissioner Ms Meera Pandey is scheduled to retire on July 21.

The relationship between the Election Commissioner and the State Government has been bitter-sweet in recent years. Sharp differences between the Election department and the State Government during the 2013 Panchayat polls, resulting in lawsuits that required the intervention of the Supreme Court, cannot be forgotten in a hurry. For all its efforts to ensure free and fair polling, all opposition parties later complained that the Commission lacked teeth. It could not arrange for a minimally fair poll, as ruling TMC activists ran riot.

No wonder the state government, according to observers would like to conduct the civic polls after July 21, under a new Election Commissioner. This explains why the government has not yet replied to three letters by Ms Pandey, urging upon the State to prepare for the coming polls. Her letters were written in January and February this year. Earlier this month, she arranged a meeting with state government representatives to discuss the matter. They told her the Government would announce its position soon.

The election department is pressing for the polls to be held on schedule. The state BJP unit sent a representation to her office seeking details about official arrangements made so far. However, on part of the state Government no major interest has been shown in the matter yet.

A cursory analysis of the recent Lok Sabha polling figures provides a partial clue as to why the TMC Government is not so keen to hold these elections anytime soon. In as many as 7 out of the 17 civic bodies, the BJP has emerged as the leading party, ahead of others including the TMC, in terms of voting figures. The ruling party clearly sees such an outcome as a direct result of the Modi wave that defined the LS elections 2014, although all through the pre-poll campaign all TMC leaders had loudly denied that there was any such 'wave' at all!

Two other figures are also disturbing the TMC leadership. First, its own share of aggregate votes is currently down to 39 per cent, from 44 per cent during the panchayat polls held last year. And the BJP’s share is up from around 3 per cent to 17 per cent during the same period. Arranging yet another round of major elections so soon after the LS polls may therefore be both embarrassing and counter-productive for the TMC. It would not provide an ideal launch pad for the 2016 assembly polls in Bengal.

While no one is commenting on the issue officially, present developments suggest that the Government would appoint administrators to the civic bodies whose terms would expire in July to ensure that they keep running under the administration’s control. The municipal elections may be held sometime in or after November this year, when the weather would be more favourable.

'The unstated but clear assumption is to buy as much time as possible for the ruling party and make sure that the Modi wave weakens,' says an observer.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed Ministers to speed up development projects especially in urban areas where the BJP has made a strong showing, without delay. Given the precarious financial condition of most civic bodies, which cannot repay contractors in time , nor raise increased revenues largely because of the government’s populist policies, it may not be easy to implement her orders with the best goodwill in the world. (IPA Service)