Mamata, on the other hand, had taken full advantage of the situation. In 2009 during the Lok Sabha polls when Congress was in alliance with Mamata’s All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), she had allotted them only 33 per cent of the total seats, in 2011, during Vidhan Sabha election, she had allotted them only 22 per cent of the total seats.
In this connection, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has pushed a ‘personal agenda’ for getting his son Abhijit won an assembly seat and he knew it for sure that without the help of Mamata this is not possible. Further to note that Pranab Mukherjee had never won an election except in 2009 when Mamata-wave and support of Adhir Chowdhury, MP, made it possible. Pranab has been always a member of Rajya Sabha.
One should keep in mind that no alliance was formed between INC and TMC. This is the reason why no ‘Common Minimum Programme’ or ‘Common Manifesto’ has been published either by TMC or by INC.
No doubt, it is a matter of grave concern that all the major political parties of the state are trying to appease the Muslims. In the first list of candidates released by the Trinamool Congress out of 224 names 35 are Muslims. But that does not mean she has withdrawn her appeasing mentality. In her party Manifesto, she declared: “Sachar Committee recommendations to be implemented. Muslim universities and colleges, apart from madrasas and Urdu schools, to be set up. Official recognition to Urdu educational institutes”.
The CPM, on the other hand, has already established a minority university called “Alliah University” and set up a branch of Aligarh Muslim University in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Apart from this lakhs of Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators have got citizenship with their blessings. Congress and other partners of Left Front e.g. Forward Bloc, RSP, CPI, etc are also toeing the same line.
Hence the silent Hindu mass of this state that constitutes about 70 per cent of the total voters is groaning in exasperation. State BJP has recognised this as a positive sign of getting support from them and mainly for this reason they have decided to contest all the 294 assembly constituencies of the state. This is for the first time that BJP has decided to fight the ensuing assembly election so big way and they are expecting surprising results in their favour.
Sometimes a common question is being asked as to who is going to win this election? Definite answer to this question is not possible. There can be suggestive answer. For that purpose let me quote the utterances of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in his latest Press Conference: “I am not above criticism. As head of the government and one of the leaders of my party I am equally responsible for the mistakes that have been made.”
In reply to this comment of the Chief Minister Bhattacharjee the opposition leader of the state assembly Partha Chatterjee (TMC) said: “The CM can read the writing on the wall. He is following Mamata Banerjee’s footsteps over land acquisition as a last resort to prevent the inevitable.”
