The potato farmers in West Bengal have been committing suicide and so far not less than a dozen farmers have taken the extreme step. What has indeed come as a rude shock is the remark of the Agricultural Marketing Minister Arup Roy; “I don’t think reports of suicide by potato farmers are true. Reasons behind those deaths are entirely personal. Describing these deaths as suicides is not correct.” Roy claimed that such deaths were not caused due to farmers being under debt. He alleged, “The Opposition is playing politics by referring to deaths of persons entirely due to some different reasons as suicide of potato farmers… It must be stopped.” True enough it would have been naive to expect sympathy for the farmers from the TMC minister.

A delegation of the Left leaders which met the Governor K N Tripathi alleged that 20 potato farmers committed suicide. As a matter of fact the state government should have purchased the produce from the farmers at a support price. The farmers were committing suicide as they had been forced to resort to distress sale and the state had done nothing to help them out of the crisis. The inaction of the state government has ironically encouraged hoarders and black marketer.

It is a paradox that Mamata who earned the ire of Ratan Tata for not antagonising the farmers for his Nano car project, has not been bothered at all of the plights of the potato farmers. Obviously the question arises why this transformation? How could a person who claims to represent the aspirations of the poor let down the poor farmers and leave them at the mercy of the middle men and money lenders? One sad aspect of the Bengal rural economy that emerged out of the present crisis is the peasants are still dependent on the local lenders for the fund.

This year there has been a bumper production of potato. A potato glut and plunging prices have triggered suicides in Bengal. One kg of the tuber is selling for Rs 3 to Rs 4. With the pressure unlikely to ease farmers face an uncertain future. In 2013, Bengal's farmers reaped a good harvest of 85 lakh tonnes and raked in handsome profits. The prices across the country were volatile because the crop had failed in UP, largest producer of potatoes Mamata had stopped trucks from ferrying potatoes to neighbouring states to stabilise prices in the deficient areas. She was wary that ferrying of potatoes would create a scarcity in Bengal. Rates soared past Rs 35 a kilo in states like Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and elsewhere. Encouraged by that experience and dreaming of making good money, Bengal farmers sowed potato over more than 4 lakh hectares of land this time.

Production was nearly 1 crore-plus tonnes. The state's 435 cold storages capable of storing a maximum of 62 lakh tonnes overflowed. Wary of the 2013 experience Odisha, Bihar, Assam and other states improved their production as a result the demand for Bengal potatoes slumped. If in 2013 Mamata Banerjee had allowed the Bengal Potato Traders' Association to enter into contract with the traders of the other states, the farmers would not have faced this situation. A new phase of suicides once the banks and private money lenders launch the drive to realize the loan amount from the farmers stares on the rural Bengal. Most Bengal farmers have small, marginal holdings and rely on cooperatives or local lenders for funds.

When the Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee took over the reins of the state, the buzzword was ‘poriborton' (change). But soon the word lost its relevance. It was caught in the quagmire of the lumpen petty bourgeoise adventurism. Mamata could not become the catalyst for change. Amidst the lurking shadows of peoples’ disillusionment and dejection, the criminals took control of the political system of the state pushing the government machinery in a state of inertia. The apathy of the government in tackling the crime and criminals is the manifestation of this phenomenon. There is no space for any kind of political discourse. Anyone trying to indulge is viewed as a suspect, conspiring against Mamata Banerjee. Ironically it has crashed to abysmal depths.

Poriborton took place in the state in the form of the rising crimes against women in the state. The urban middle class is aggrieved at the increase in the crime. What has been the worst is a state with its first woman chief minister is among the top three states in India in crimes against women. The Ranaghat rape of the septuagenarian nun is the classic example. Even if one subscribes to the police feed that one of the two culprits arrested was Bangladeshi, the question remained how could the dacoits or anti socials elements from Bangladesh cross the border and indulge in such reckless crime? Obviously the finger is raised towards the police; it is the police connivance that has emboldened the goons and criminals.

While the ordinary people, the rural poor strive for empowerment with peace the urban middle class clamours for progress and prosperity. Ironically in today’s Bengal both are confused and restless. Though they nurse antagonistic economic relations against each other, they share one common element; moving in a bind. This ought to not to have happened. But notwithstanding having different priorities and perspective they are the victims of the spectre of confusion of governance.

If the failure of Trinmool government to face the potato-growers plight is the manifestation of this development, it is the lack of conviction to confront crime and criminal that has pushed the state towards anarchy. It is a skewed notion that Mamata has been pursuing a pro-poor politics. Behind the façade of this nature of politics she in fact has been trying to survive. It would naive to believe that she is not aware of this development. In fact she is feeling helpless. She is not sure from where to begin; how to initiate. For her survival she has in fact been taking the leaves out of the Left Front’s governance and rules. The April 18 election to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation would be the crucial electoral battle. It would send a candid message; parish or push; the decision is her. No doubt the BJP has improved its support base to some extent, but it is not yet enough to exploit the peoples’ distrust against Mamata. Her survival depends on her overreach quotient.

The problems of Mamata are genuine but she has to confront them. It is a known secret that Mamata launched her TMC on the strength of the second and third rank Congress leaders who never had the opportunity to participate in administration or decision making mechanism. With the victory they suddenly found themselves inside the ministerial chambers. This journey from being a rabble-rouser to an administrator was quite fascinating and also challenging. While they are yet to succeed in accomplishing their job, of winning the trust of the rural people they are caught in the middle class trap in the urban areas. The second major crisis has been her arrogance and the fear of being betrayed. These two elements are primarily responsible for creation of the present situation. (IPA Service)